Borrowing Power – Article I Section 8, Clause 2 of the Constitution

The United States Constitution

The Borrowing Clause is one of Congress’ enumerated powers found in the Constitution of the United States, Article. I. Section. 8., clause 2:

(Clause 2 – Borrowing power)

[The Congress shall have Power] To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

From the U.S. Senate web site:

Congress can borrow money through the issuance of bonds and other means. When it borrows money, the United States creates a binding obligation to repay the debt and cannot repudiate it.

photo credit: alancleaver_2000

You haven’t heard of the Bureau of the Public Debt (merged into the Bureau of the Fiscal Service) before? We’re a small agency within the Department of the Treasury. Our customers are your neighbors, co-workers, and most likely you, too. You’re our customer if you’ve ever bought any type of Treasury security for yourself or, as millions have done in the case of savings bonds, as a gift for someone else.

Our job is to borrow the money needed to operate the federal government and to account for the resulting debt. In a nutshell, we borrow by selling Treasury bills, notes, and bonds, as well as U.S. Savings Bonds; we pay interest to investors; and, when the time comes to pay back the loans, we redeem investors’ securities. Every time we borrow or pay back money, it affects the outstanding debt of the United States.

Bureau of the Public Debt

More

• Pocket Constitution
• Congressional Procedure, Chapter 7. J. Debt Ceiling
• The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription – The National Archives
• United States Constitution: Texts, Commentaries, Historical Texts and Judicial Decisions – Law Library of Congress
• CRS Annotated Constitution
• The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation – FDsys
• CRS Annotated Constitution, LII
• Heritage Guide to the Constitution
• “Federalism and the Constitution: Limits on Congressional Power,” CRS Report RL30315 (31-page PDF)
• “Legislative Powers of Congress: A Brief Reference Guide,” CRS Report 97-434 (16-page PDF)
• Clause 2. Borrowing Power – from Findlaw
• Clause 2. Borrowing Power – from Cornell’s Legal Information Institute
• “Overview of the Federal Debt,” CRS Report R41815 (27-page PDF)
• United States public debt – from Wikipedia
• Balanced Budget Amendment – from Wikipedia
• Tax Foundation
• Citizens Against Government Waste
• National Taxpayers Union
• US Debt Clock.org

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