1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Debt Limit Suspensions Updated December 27, 2021 From 2013 until 2019, Congress chose to suspend the statutory limit on the amount of federal debt outstanding for set periods of time, rather than increase the limit by a do
2、llar amount. On October 14, 2021, however, Congress chose to increase the debt limit by the fixed amount of $480 billion. On December 16, 2021, another act increased the debt limit by $2.5 trillion. Debt limit suspension acts, by contrast, are silent on dollar amounts. A suspension defines a minimum
3、 interval before Congress is compelled to address the debt limit again. Once the suspension ends, the debt limit is reset to accommodate the increase in federal debt during the suspension period. The U.S. Treasury, with the help of “extraordinary measures,” can pay federal financial obligations for
4、some time after a suspension ends, allowing Congress more time to consider how to address the debt limit before Treasurys capacity to pay is exhausted. Treasury Secretarys Authority to Invoke Extraordinary Measures Congress provided the Treasury Secretary with the statutory authority (5 U.S.C. 8348(
