Federal Debt Ceiling Crisis Faces $16.9 Trillion, $3.5 Trillion Of Spending

The Federal debt ceiling crisis is looming over Washington DC as the Federal debt clock recently passed $16.9 trillion.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the Department of Homeland Security ignored the sequester and decided to order armored vehicles and 1.6 billion bullets.

Based upon the US Constitution, all budget bills must start in or be passed by the House of Representatives. Current US Federal spending levels have exceeded $3.5 trillion and the US Federal budget deficit is a little under $800 billion, down several hundred billion from the $1.3 trillion peak. Despite Federal spending cuts, the total amount of spending has still grown and deficits dropped because of increased taxes and higher US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

The automatic sequester spending cuts only affected $85 billion of the 2013 annual budget. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that cancelling the 10-year sequester plan would increase Federal spending by $104 billion in 2014.

The Federal debt ceiling crisis will reach a crescendo on September 30, 2013 when the Federal government’s ability to spend runs out. The Republican controlled House passed budgets this year but none were acceptable to the Democrat controlled Senate. The Democrats have not passed a budget in over four years, but the Senate’s 2014 budget proposal demanded over one trillion in tax increases and the House voted it down.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) claims “the federal government will bring more revenue in than in any year in our history” so the Republicans are wanting more spending cuts. In response, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid believes “in a balanced approach that pairs spending cuts with having those that can afford it pay more.”

How do you think the Federal debt ceiling crisis should be solved?