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1 1 (May 2, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govelmg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congjressional ____ ~ ~Research Service Debt Limit Policy Questions: What Are Extraordinary Measures? Updated May 2, 2023 A joint resolution enacted in December 2021 (P.L. 117-73) increased the statutory debt limit to $31.38 trillion. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress in a January 13, 2023, letter that she would implement extraordinary measures starting on January 19, 2023, to prevent the debt limit from binding. Extraordinary measures were most recently implemented from July 2021 to December 2021, following the expiration of the statutory debt limit suspension in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-37). Recent estimates from Treasury and CBO project those measures to be exhausted in early June 2023, absent congressional action. This Insight 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 includes debt held by the public (which is used to finance budget deficits) and debt issued to federal government accounts (which is used to meet federal obligations). The debt limit was created to act as a congressional check on recent revenue and expenditure trends, though the budgetary decisions affecting debt levels may have been the result, at least partly, of policies enacted well in the past. Some past debt limit legislation has linked debt limit increases with other fiscal policy proposals. What Are Extraordinary Measures? Extraordinary measures represent a series of actions used to extend the date by which debt limit legislation must be enacted. The authority for using extraordinary measures rests with the Treasury Secretary (codified at 5 U.S.C. §8348 and 5 U.S.C. §8909). Extraordinary measures have been regularly invoked in recent years, and have delayed required action on the debt limit by periods ranging from a few weeks to several months, depending on when such measures were enacted (see the How Long Do Extraordinary Measures Last? section). Ultimately, accounts and members of the public that are affected by extraordinary measures must be compensated for the delay in payment that results from such actions, when the debt limit is subsequently modified. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN10837 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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