[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23807]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           THE NATIONAL DEBT

  (Mr. MATHESON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I want to draw attention to the issue of 
national debt. It has been 874 days since this administration came into 
office. During that time, the national debt has increased by 
$1,142,246,097,598, and according to the Web site for the Bureau of the 
Public Debt at the U.S. Department of Treasury, yesterday at 4:30 p.m. 
eastern daylight time, the Nation's total outstanding debt was 
$6,782,571,483,957. Furthermore, in the current fiscal year we are in, 
2003, which actually ended yesterday, interest on our national debt or 
what I call the ``debt tax'' is $304,978,878,641.
  It is time for Congress to pay attention to this disturbing trend.

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