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| President Biden and top congressional leaders are set to meet Tuesday to discuss raising the debt ceiling. Which raises a lot of questions, including what the debt limit actually is and why the United States has one. |
| 拜登总统和国会最高领导人定于周二举行会晤，讨论如何提升债务上限。这就带来了许多问题，比如债务上限到底是什么，以及美国为何存在债务上限。 |
| Here’s everything you need to know about the debt limit. |
| 以下是你需要了解的关于债务上限的所有信息。 |
| What is the debt limit? |
| 什么是债务上限？ |
| The debt limit is a cap on the total amount of money that the United States is authorized to borrow to fund the government and meet its financial obligations. |
| 债务上限指的是为保证政府资金及其财政义务的履行而规定的美国借贷总额上限。 |
| Because the federal government runs budget deficits — meaning it spends more than it brings in through taxes and other revenue — it must borrow huge sums of money to pay its bills. Those obligations include funding for social safety net programs, interest on the national debt and salaries for members of the armed forces. |
| 由于联邦政府存在预算赤字（即支出超过了税收和来自其他渠道的总收入），必须借入巨额资金来支付账单。政府的财务义务包括为社会保障网络提供资金、支付国债利息和军人薪俸。 |
| Approaching the debt ceiling often elicits calls by lawmakers to cut back on government spending. But lifting the debt limit does not actually authorize any new spending — in fact, it simply allows the United States to spend money on programs that have already been authorized by Congress. |
| 逼近债务上限往往会引来议员呼声，要求政府削减开支。但提升债务上限并不等于授权任何新支出，实际上，这只是让美国把钱花在国会已经通过的项目上。 |
| When was the debt limit reached? |
| 美国何时达到了债务上限？ |
| The United States officially hit its debt limit on Jan. 19, prompting the Treasury Department to use accounting maneuvers known as extraordinary measures to continue paying the government’s obligations and avoid a default. Those measures temporarily curb certain government investments so that the bills can continue to be paid. |
| 美国在1月19日正式达到债务上限，导致财政部采取了被称为非常规措施的审计手段来继续偿还政府债务，避免违约。这些措施暂停了政府的某些投资，以便继续支付账单。 |
| Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen has warned lawmakers that the United States could run out of cash by June 1 if the borrowing cap isn’t raised or suspended. |
| 财政部长珍妮特·L·耶伦提醒议员，若不能提升或暂停执行债务上限，美国可能会在6月1日前耗尽现金。 |
| How much debt does the United States have? |
| 美国有多少债务？ |
| The national debt crossed $31 trillion for the first time last year. The borrowing cap is set at $31.381 trillion. |
| 去年，美国债务首次突破31万亿美元。债务上限被设定在31.381万亿美元。 |
| Why does the United States have a debt limit? |
| 美国为何要设定债务上限？ |
| According to the Constitution, Congress must authorize government borrowing. In the early 20th century, the debt limit was instituted so that the Treasury would not need to ask Congress for permission each time it had to issue debt to pay bills. |
| 根据宪法，政府借贷必须由国会授权。20世纪初，设立债务上限是为了让财政部不必每次都得征求国会批准才能发行债券，支付账单。 |
| During World War I, Congress passed the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917 to give the Treasury more flexibility to issue debt and manage federal finances. The debt limit started to take its current shape in 1939, when Congress consolidated different limits that had been set on different types of bonds into a single borrowing cap. At the time, the limit was set to $45 billion. |
| “一战”期间，国会通过了《1917年第二自由债券法案》，赋予财政部更大职权来发行债券和管理联邦财政。1939年，债务上限开始形成如今的规模，当时国会将各类债券的不同上限合并为单一债务上限。当年的债务上限被设定为450亿美元。 |
| While the debt limit was created to make government run more smoothly, many policymakers believe that it has become more trouble than it’s worth. In 2021, Ms. Yellen said she supported abolishing the debt limit. |
| 虽然债务上限的设立目的在于提升政府效率，但许多政策制定者认为，此举带来的麻烦多于好处。2021年，耶伦称她支持取消债务上限。 |
| What happens if the debt limit is not raised or suspended? |
| 如果无法提升或暂停执行债务上限会怎样？ |
| If the government exhausts its extraordinary measures and runs out of cash, it would be unable to issue new debt. That means it would not have enough money to pay its bills, including interest and other payments it owes to bondholders, military salaries and benefits to retirees. |
| 如果政府再无非常规措施可用并耗尽现金，就不能再发行新债。这意味着政府的钱将不足以支付账单，包括利息和应付给债券持有者的其他款项、军人薪水、以及退休福利。 |
| No one knows exactly what would happen if the United States gets to that point, but the government could default on its debt if it is unable to make required payments to its bondholders. Economists and Wall Street analysts warn that such a scenario would be economically devastating, and could plunge the entire world into a financial crisis. |
| 没人能确切预测美国真到了那一步会怎样，但如果政府无法向债券持有者完成必要偿付，可能会导致债务违约。经济学者和华尔街分析师警告称，这样的结果将对经济造成毁灭性打击，还可能在全球范围内引发金融危机。 |
| Will military salaries, Social Security benefits and bondholders be paid? |
| 对军人薪水、社保福利和债券持有者的支付能够完成吗？ |
| Various ideas have been raised to ensure that critical payments are not missed — particularly payments to the investors who hold U.S. debt. But none of these ideas have ever been tried, and it remains unclear whether the government could actually continue paying any of its bills if it can’t borrow more money. |
| 在保障完成重要开支——尤其是按期偿付美国国债持有者——的问题上，现在已经提了不少想法。但这一切都没有先例，目前也不能确定，如果不能借更多的债，政府是否真可以继续完成任何偿付。 |
| One idea that has been proposed is that the Treasury Department would prioritize certain payments to avoid defaulting on U.S. debt. In that case, the Treasury would first pay the bondholders who own U.S. Treasury debt, even if it delayed other financial obligations like government salaries or retirement benefits. |
| 有人提出一个让财政部优先支付某些款项，以避免美国债务违约。在这种情况下，哪怕财政部在政府工资或退休福利等其他财政开支上出现拖延，也会先向美国国债持有者付款。 |
| So far, the Treasury seems to have ruled that out as an option. Ms. Yellen has said that such an approach would not avoid a debt “default” in the eyes of markets. |
| 目前，财政部似乎不会考虑采用这种办法，耶伦曾表示，在市场看来，此举将无法避免债务“违约”。 |
| “Treasury systems have all been built to pay all of our bills when they’re due and on time, and not to prioritize one form of spending over another,” Ms. Yellen told reporters earlier this year. |
| “财政制度的存在就是为了在我们的所有账单到期时及时完成支付，而不是优先挑选某种类型的支出，”耶伦在今年早些时候这样告诉记者。 |
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