[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 74 (Thursday, May 23, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE VERY BAD DEBT BOXSCORE

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, too many Americans have not the foggiest 
notion about the enormity of the Federal debt. Every so often, I ask 
various groups, how millions of dollars are there in a trillion? They 
think about it, voice some estimates, most of them not even close.
  They are stunned when they learn the facts, such as the case today. 
To be exact, as of the close of business yesterday, May 22, 1996, the 
exact Federal debt--down to the penny--stood at $5,117,440,103,398.93.
  Another astonishing statistic is that on a per capita basis, every 
man, woman, and child in America owes $19,318.08 as his or her share of 
the Federal debt.
  As for how many millions of dollars there are in a trillion, there 
are a million million in a trillion, which means that the Federal 
Government owes more than 5 million million dollars.

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