Debt Limit Policy Questions: What Are Extraordinary Measures?
link to page 2 link to page 2 
INSIGHTi
Debt Limit Policy Questions: What Are
Extraordinary Measures?
Updated May 2, 2023
A joint resolution enacted in December 2021 (P.L. 117-73) increased the statutory debt limit to $31.38
trillion. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress in a January 13, 2023, letter that she would
implement “extraordinary measures” starting on January 19, 2023, to prevent the debt limit from binding.
Extraordinary measures were most recently implemented from July 2021 to December 2021, following
the expiration of the statutory debt limit suspension in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-37).
Recent estimates from Treasury and CBO project those measures to be exhausted in early June 2023,
absent congressional action. This Insight examines the use of extraordinary measures and the subsequent
effects on federal debt activity.
What Is the Debt Limit?
As part of its “power of the purse,” Congress uses the statutory debt limit (codified at 31 U.S.C. §3101) as
a means of restricting federal debt. Debt subject to the limit is more than 99% of total federal debt, and
includes debt held by the public (which is used to finance budget deficits) and debt issued to federal
government accounts (which is used to meet federal obligations). The debt limit was created to act as a
congressional check on recent revenue and expenditure trends, though the budgetary decisions affecting
debt levels may have been the result, at least partly, of policies enacted well in the past. Some past debt
limit legislation has linked debt limit increases with other fiscal policy proposals.
What Are Extraordinary Measures?
Extraordinary measures represent a series of actions used to extend the date by which debt limit
legislation must be enacted. The authority for using extraordinary measures rests with the Treasury
Secretary (codified at 5 U.S.C. §8348 and 5 U.S.C. §8909). Extraordinary measures have been regularly
invoked in recent years, and have delayed required action on the debt limit by periods ranging from a few
weeks to several months, depending on when such measures were enacted (see the “How Long Do
Extraordinary Measures Last?” section). Ultimately, accounts and members of the public that are affected
by extraordinary measures must be compensated for the delay in payment that results from such actions,
when the debt limit is subsequently modified.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN10837
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress
link to page 2 link to page 3 Congressional Research Service
2
Before or during a period when extraordinary measures are implemented, Treasury typically provides a
description of the extraordinary measures available and estimates of their effect on federal borrowing
capacity (or how much “headroom” they will add). Treasury provided the most recent description of such
measures in August 2021. Table 1 provides a description of the currently available extraordinary
measures and the amount of headroom added when those measures were implemented from 2017 through
2021.
Table 1. Use of Extraordinary Measures, 2017-2021
Headroom Added from
Headroom Added from
March 2019
August 2021
Headroom Added since
Measure
to August 2019
to December 2021
January 2023
Suspension of reinvestment
$230 bil ion
$276 bil ion
$294 bil ion
in Government Securities
Investment Fund (G Fund) of
the Federal Employees
Retirement System
Suspension of invested
$22 bil ion
$23 bil ion
$17 bil ion
balance in Exchange
Stabilization Fund
Declaration of a Debt
$86 bil ion one-time and
$48 bil ion one-time and
$143 bil ion one-time (on
Issuance Suspension Period
$7.3 bil ion per month
$7.3 bil ion per month
June 30) and $8.3 bil ion per
month
Suspension of State and
$0 (prevents further
$0 (prevents further
$0 (prevents further
Local Government
increases in debt by
increases in debt by
increases in debt by
Securities
approximately $4 bil ion per
approximately $10 bil ion
approximately $6 bil ion per
month)
per month)
month)
Sources: U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Description of Extraordinary Measures,” January 19 2023, available at U.S.
Department of the Treasury, “Description of Extraordinary Measures,” August 2, 2021, available at
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Description-of-Extraordinary-Measures-Aug2021.pdf; and U.S. Department of
the Treasury, “Description of the Extraordinary Measures,” March 5, 2019, available at https://home.treasury.gov/system/
files/136/Description-of-Extraordinary-Measures-03_05_19.pdf.
How Long Do Extraordinary Measures Last?
Short-term fluctuations in federal debt levels provide for substantial uncertainty in how long
extraordinary measures can last. Federal balances fluctuate on a day-to-day basis in response to a number
of factors, including the timing of payments for Social Security, military benefits, and other programs;
interest payments on debt obligations; and the timing of certain receipts. Treasury’s recent letter to
Congress indicated that extraordinary measures imposed in January 2023 would be exhausted by early
June 2023, but cautioned that such estimates are subject to considerable uncertainty. For more details on
the duration of extraordinary measures, see CRS Insight IN12147, Debt Limit Policy Questions: How
Long Do Extraordinary Measures Last?.
Daily federal budget outcomes can vary significantly with the timing of payments and collections, and are
altered considerably by the imposition of extraordinary measures. Figure 1 provides an example of this
process by showing daily federal balance outcomes surrounding and during the imposition of
extraordinary measures in FY2018. The reduced variation in daily balances starting in December 2017
reflects the implementation of extraordinary measures to exactly match outlays and receipts. The decline
in the daily balance on February 9, 2018, reflects the compensation of intragovernmental creditors whose
payments were delayed by the implementation of extraordinary measures.
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Congressional Research Service
3
Figure 1. Changes in the Daily Federal Balances, October 3, 2017-February 15, 2018
(In billions of nominal dollars)
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Daily Treasury Statement (various).
Note: Positive numbers indicate daily surpluses, while negative numbers indicate daily deficits.
Monthly budget outcomes can also fluctuate with the timing of various activities. The federal government
tends to record higher net budget surpluses in the beginning of the calendar year (when many individual
tax returns are filed) and September (as certain payments are due at the end of the fiscal year) while
recording lower balances in other months.
Figure 2 presents the average federal monthly account balances from the previous five fiscal years. The
gray regions represent the amount to which average monthly receipts are equal to average monthly
outlays. The red regions represent outlays greater than receipts (indicating an average monthly deficit),
and the green regions represent receipts greater than outlays (indicating an average monthly surplus). For
example, on average in October of the past five fiscal years, the federal account balance has been about
$440 billion, of which just over $80 billion has been deficit spending. The monthly totals for March and
April shown in Figure 2 show higher net deficits than what would be expected in a typical year, owing
largely to large deficit spending activity following the enactment of the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) in
March 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2) in March 2021.
Congressional Research Service
4
Figure 2. Average Federal Monthly Account Balance, FY2018-FY2022
(In constant October-December 2022 dollars)
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement (various). CRS calculations.
Author Information
Grant A. Driessen
Specialist in Public Finance
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
IN10837 · VERSION 15 · UPDATED
INSIGHTi
Debt Limit Policy Questions: What Are
Extraordinary Measures?
Updated May 2, 2023
A joint resolution enacted in December 2021 (P.L. 117-73) increased the statutory debt limit to $31.38
trillion. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress in a January 13, 2023, letter that she would
implement “extraordinary measures” starting on January 19, 2023, to prevent the debt limit from binding.
Extraordinary measures were most recently implemented from July 2021 to December 2021, following
the expiration of the statutory debt limit suspension in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-37).
Recent estimates from Treasury and CBO project those measures to be exhausted in early June 2023,
absent congressional action. This Insight examines the use of extraordinary measures and the subsequent
effects on federal debt activity.
What Is the Debt Limit?
As part of its “power of the purse,” Congress uses the statutory debt limit (codified at 31 U.S.C. §3101) as
a means of restricting federal debt. Debt subject to the limit is more than 99% of total federal debt, and
includes debt held by the public (which is used to finance budget deficits) and debt issued to federal
government accounts (which is used to meet federal obligations). The debt limit was created to act as a
congressional check on recent revenue and expenditure trends, though the budgetary decisions affecting
debt levels may have been the result, at least partly, of policies enacted well in the past. Some past debt
limit legislation has linked debt limit increases with other fiscal policy proposals.
What Are Extraordinary Measures?
Extraordinary measures represent a series of actions used to extend the date by which debt limit
legislation must be enacted. The authority for using extraordinary measures rests with the Treasury
Secretary (codified at 5 U.S.C. §8348 and 5 U.S.C. §8909). Extraordinary measures have been regularly
invoked in recent years, and have delayed required action on the debt limit by periods ranging from a few
weeks to several months, depending on when such measures were enacted (see the “How Long Do
Extraordinary Measures Last?” section). Ultimately, accounts and members of the public that are affected
by extraordinary measures must be compensated for the delay in payment that results from such actions,
when the debt limit is subsequently modified.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN10837
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress
link to page 2 link to page 3 Congressional Research Service
2
Before or during a period when extraordinary measures are implemented, Treasury typically provides a
description of the extraordinary measures available and estimates of their effect on federal borrowing
capacity (or how much “headroom” they will add). Treasury provided the most recent description of such
measures in August 2021. Table 1 provides a description of the currently available extraordinary
measures and the amount of headroom added when those measures were implemented from 2017 through
2021.
Table 1. Use of Extraordinary Measures, 2017-2021
Headroom Added from
Headroom Added from
March 2019
August 2021
Headroom Added since
Measure
to August 2019
to December 2021
January 2023
Suspension of reinvestment
$230 bil ion
$276 bil ion
$294 bil ion
in Government Securities
Investment Fund (G Fund) of
the Federal Employees
Retirement System
Suspension of invested
$22 bil ion
$23 bil ion
$17 bil ion
balance in Exchange
Stabilization Fund
Declaration of a Debt
$86 bil ion one-time and
$48 bil ion one-time and
$143 bil ion one-time (on
Issuance Suspension Period
$7.3 bil ion per month
$7.3 bil ion per month
June 30) and $8.3 bil ion per
month
Suspension of State and
$0 (prevents further
$0 (prevents further
$0 (prevents further
Local Government
increases in debt by
increases in debt by
increases in debt by
Securities
approximately $4 bil ion per
approximately $10 bil ion
approximately $6 bil ion per
month)
per month)
month)
Sources: U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Description of Extraordinary Measures,” January 19 2023, available at U.S.
Department of the Treasury, “Description of Extraordinary Measures,” August 2, 2021, available at
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Description-of-Extraordinary-Measures-Aug2021.pdf; and U.S. Department of
the Treasury, “Description of the Extraordinary Measures,” March 5, 2019, available at https://home.treasury.gov/system/
files/136/Description-of-Extraordinary-Measures-03_05_19.pdf.
How Long Do Extraordinary Measures Last?
Short-term fluctuations in federal debt levels provide for substantial uncertainty in how long
extraordinary measures can last. Federal balances fluctuate on a day-to-day basis in response to a number
of factors, including the timing of payments for Social Security, military benefits, and other programs;
interest payments on debt obligations; and the timing of certain receipts. Treasury’s recent letter to
Congress indicated that extraordinary measures imposed in January 2023 would be exhausted by early
June 2023, but cautioned that such estimates are subject to considerable uncertainty. For more details on
the duration of extraordinary measures, see CRS Insight IN12147, Debt Limit Policy Questions: How
Long Do Extraordinary Measures Last?.
Daily federal budget outcomes can vary significantly with the timing of payments and collections, and are
altered considerably by the imposition of extraordinary measures. Figure 1 provides an example of this
process by showing daily federal balance outcomes surrounding and during the imposition of
extraordinary measures in FY2018. The reduced variation in daily balances starting in December 2017
reflects the implementation of extraordinary measures to exactly match outlays and receipts. The decline
in the daily balance on February 9, 2018, reflects the compensation of intragovernmental creditors whose
payments were delayed by the implementation of extraordinary measures.
link to page 4 link to page 4
Congressional Research Service
3
Figure 1. Changes in the Daily Federal Balances, October 3, 2017-February 15, 2018
(In billions of nominal dollars)
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Daily Treasury Statement (various).
Note: Positive numbers indicate daily surpluses, while negative numbers indicate daily deficits.
Monthly budget outcomes can also fluctuate with the timing of various activities. The federal government
tends to record higher net budget surpluses in the beginning of the calendar year (when many individual
tax returns are filed) and September (as certain payments are due at the end of the fiscal year) while
recording lower balances in other months.
Figure 2 presents the average federal monthly account balances from the previous five fiscal years. The
gray regions represent the amount to which average monthly receipts are equal to average monthly
outlays. The red regions represent outlays greater than receipts (indicating an average monthly deficit),
and the green regions represent receipts greater than outlays (indicating an average monthly surplus). For
example, on average in October of the past five fiscal years, the federal account balance has been about
$440 billion, of which just over $80 billion has been deficit spending. The monthly totals for March and
April shown in Figure 2 show higher net deficits than what would be expected in a typical year, owing
largely to large deficit spending activity following the enactment of the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) in
March 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2) in March 2021.
Congressional Research Service
4
Figure 2. Average Federal Monthly Account Balance, FY2018-FY2022
(In constant October-December 2022 dollars)
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement (various). CRS calculations.
Author Information
Grant A. Driessen
Specialist in Public Finance
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
IN10837 · VERSION 15 · UPDATED