Interest payments on the national debt will soon surpass spending on education and health care.
The United States national debt zoomed past the $22 trillion mark on Tuesday for the first time in history.
The Treasury Department released data that shows a total outstanding debt amount of $22.013 trillion. A number of factors play into the soaring debt, including the Republican law that cut $1.5 trillion in taxes, spending increases, the coffers to pay Social Security and Medicare, and the interest on other loans taken.
The leaders of Campaign to Fix the Debt, a watchdog group, said the new debt total shows an unquestionable burden that will sit on the shoulders of the next generation.
“This milestone is another sad reminder of the inexcusable tab our nation’s leaders continue to run up and will leave for the next generation,” said the group’s co-chairmen Judd Gregg and Edward Rendell in this report from The Hill.
