evidence: Because the US government spends more than it takes in, lawmakers must periodically raise the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is the legal limit on the total amount of federal debt the US government can accrue. The limit applies to almost all federal debt, including the debt held by the public and the debt the government owes itself as a result of borrowing from various government accounts, like the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. As a result, the debt continues to rise due to both annual budget deficits financed by borrowing from the public and from trust fund surpluses, which are invested in Treasury bills with the promise to be repaid later with interest. Since the end of World War II, Congress and the President have modified the debt ceiling more than 100 times. Lawmakers suspended the debt limit, rather than raising it by a specific dollar amount, seven times since 2012 and increased the debt limit twice in 2021. In early 2023, the US once again hit its debt ceiling, which was capped at $31.4 trillion. After months of using "extraordinary measures" to stave off default, lawmakers enacted legislation to suspend the debt limit through January 1, 2025.