Gross National Debt Reaches $32 Trillion

The gross national debt of the United States surpassed $32 trillion yesterday. It was just over eight months ago when the federal government eclipsed the $31 trillion mark on October 2, 2022.

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

The United States’ gross debt is now more than $32 trillion. The only thing more disheartening than that is the fact we reached $31 trillion last October. We can’t even get through a single fiscal year anymore without adding a trillion dollars in debt, and $33 trillion is likely just around the corner. Our debt addiction saddles the next generation with a debt burden that only grows larger so long as we insist on ducking the hard choices of governing.

We need a return to responsible fiscal policy if we’re ever going to get ourselves out of this mess. The formula to get there should be simple: no new borrowing – meaning fully offset all new spending or tax cuts – and better yet, hold off on them until our debt is under control; address the drivers of our runaway debt; and reform our broken budget process.  It’s not rocket science – it's pretty darn straightforward, and it’s time for our politicians to get to work before it’s too late.

We just saw a much-needed step in the right direction with the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act, which could reduce deficits by $1 trillion to $2 trillion over the coming decade. Moments like these are practically unheard of in Washington today; we should be building on that momentum with another round of savings or a bipartisan fiscal commission.  With debt set to exceed its all-time record share of the economy in just a few years, time is of the essence.

If there’s one thing that the recent debt ceiling negotiations showed us, it’s that finding agreement on how we as a nation spend and save is difficult but doable. This is not time to give up.

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For more information, please contact Kim McIntyre, Director of Media Relations, at mcintyre@crfb.org.