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marketmaven

02/19/04 10:02 AM

#207086 RE: Zeev Hed #207084

Turnips- a moment of silence for debts due long into the future

U.S. National Debt Tops $7 Trillion for First Time
February 18, 2004 6:09:00 PM ET
By Jonathan Nicholson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government's national debt -- the accumulation of past budget shortfalls -- totaled more than $7 trillion for the first time as of Tuesday, according to a Treasury Department report. In its daily financial statement released on Wednesday, the Treasury said the U.S. debt subject to a congressionally set limit totaled $7.015 trillion, up from $6.983 trillion on Friday. The government debt ceiling stands only a few hundred billion dollars ahead at $7.384 trillion, and Treasury would need Congress's blessing to borrow beyond that. Treasury officials say they expect the limit to be hit sometime between June and October.