U.S. Debt Reaches Record $11 Trillion
By: RNS
Updated: March 18, 2009
Newly released figures from the Treasury Department show the national debt has passed the $11 trillion mark.
That's the numeral eleven with a dozen zeros behind it.
Eleven trillion one dollar bills would circle the earth about 77 times. If stacked one atop the other, 11 trillion one dollar bills would reach more than three and a half times the distance to the moon.
Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee, announced yesterday the $11 trillion debt could force Congress to make "adjustments" to President Obama's $3.6 trillion budget plan.
The number is likely to have serious ramifications for presidential plans for nationalized health care, education and other programs while the government battles to stabilize the economy.
Sen. Conrad has told reporters the deficit is "going to require all of us to make adjustments."
