evidence: Created by Congress in 1917, the debt limit, or ceiling, sets the maximum amount of outstanding federal debt the U.S. government can incur. The Treasury Department reached its debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion in January 2023, and after months of debate, lawmakers voted in June of that year to suspend the ceiling until January 2025. The U.S. government has run a deficit averaging nearly $1 trillion every year since 2001, meaning it spends that much more money than it receives in taxes and other revenue. To make up the difference, it has to borrow to continue to finance payments that Congress has already authorized. As of June 2023, the total national debt stands at more than $32 trillion. [...] Some economists say that the debt ceiling still serves a useful purpose by creating a credible commitment to limit spending. They point out that previous debates over the debt ceiling led to concessions that curtailed spending. Indeed, the 2023 agreement to suspend the ceiling will reduce the debt by $1.5 trillion over the next decade if all of its provisions are enacted. However, given the rapid rate at which the national debt increases and the uncertainty of that enactment, the deal "should not be mistaken for a significant effort to bring the nation’s debt under control," writes CFR Senior Fellow Christopher M. Tuttle.