Debt Limit Debate Has Cost Taxpayers Over 1 Billion

Last summer’s ugly battle over extending the federal debt limit ended up costing taxpayers about $1.3 billion, the Government Accountability Office reported. The $1.3 billion is mostly accounted for by increased borrowing costs for the federal government, The Washington Post’s blog 2chambers reported.

The Post noted that as Congress and President Barack Obama sparred, Treasury had to suspend investments in funds for federal employees, postal workers, and others to pay the nation’s bills.

After the fight was over, Treasury then had to restore the funds, the GAO said. The debt fight also resulted in the Bureau of Public Debt logging 5,750 hours of work, including 400 hours of overtime, to keep the nation from defaulting.

Congress and the White House eventually agreed to raise the federal debt limit to $16.4 trillion. The deal included a series of automatic, across-the-board budget cuts that kick in in January, the Post reported.