Growth in Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Nov. 13, 2006 |
| Report Number |
RL33723 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Philip D. Winters, Government and Finance Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The federal budget's return to persistent deficits after fiscal year 2001 increasedand continues to increase the amount of federal government debt sold to the public.The sale of U.S. Treasury-issued debt to the public provides the government with thecash it needs to cover the gap between its income and its spending.The Treasury Bulletin (published quarterly) provides data on the amount offederal debt held by different categories of holders. The categories of holdersinclude, among others, depository institutions, individuals, pension funds, insurancecompanies, state and local governments, and foreign governments and internationalinstitutions. For this report, the holdings of federal debt by the public are dividedinto just two categories, domestic private holdings, and foreign and internationalholdings (hereafter referred to as foreign holdings). The rest of this reportdocuments the growth in foreign holdings of federal debt over the last 20 years andthe potential consequences of the changes.
