The U.S. government plans to issue more debt in the current quarter than any time in history, the Department of Treasury said on Monday.
In the July-Sept quarter, the Treasury plans to borrow $171 billion in marketable debt. It is the highest amount for the second fiscal quarter and the second-highest amount for any quarter.
Borrowing for the quarter is up $59 billion from last year. The Treasury said the borrowing increase is due to the fiscal stimulus package, as well as to cover lower state and local government series issuance.
In the following quarter, from Oct-Dec, the Treasury said it plans to scale back borrowing to $142 billion. The total for the fiscal 2008 year is estimated at $555 billion.
By Adam Button and edited by Sarah Sussman