1917
Year Congress passed the first debt ceiling, the Second Liberty Bond Act
$11.5 billion
Original debt ceiling Congress established in 1917
$125 billion
Amount the U.S. government borrows each month
3
Days it takes the federal government to borrow $11.5 billion
$14.294 trillion
Current debt ceiling, reached May 16.
16
Number of months since the debt ceiling was last raised
$1.9 trillion
Amount the debt ceiling was raised in February 2010
78
Number of times the debt ceiling has been raised since 1960
1981
Year the debt ceiling first topped $1 trillion
2008
Year the debt ceiling first topped $10 trillion
$2.2 trillion
Combined size of Canada’s and Mexico’s economies
Sources: U.S. Treasury, Office of Management and Budget, Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, World Bank
