[20210729]IN10837_“非常措施”和债务限额.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i “Extraordinary Measures” and the Debt Limit Updated July 29, 2021 The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-37) suspended the statutory debt limit from August 2, 2019, through July 31, 2021. Upon reinstatement, the statutory debt limit will be set at a level precisely accommodating federal borrowing (matching the federal debt subject to limit on August 2, 2021). Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress in a July 23, 2021, letter that she would implement “extraordinary measures” starting on August 2, 2021, to prevent the debt limit from binding. Extraordinary measures were most recently implemented from March 2019 to August 2019, following the expiration of the statutory debt limit suspension in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123). This Insight briefly examines the use of extraordinary measures and the subsequent effects on federal debt activity. What Is the Debt Limit? As part of its “power of the purse,” Congress uses the statutory debt limit (codified at 31 U.S.C. 3101) as a means of restricting federal debt. Debt subject to the limit is more than 99% of total federal debt, and i