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Debt limit · 2008, Daily Treasury Statement, Table IIIC

How close did US debt come to its ceiling in 2008?

In 2008, through , room under the debt limit was lowest on , at $338.76 billion.

Room left under the debt limit, each statement day of 2008

252 statements, to Lowest on

Room left under the debt limit, each statement day, 2 January 2008 to 31 December 2008

Debt subject to the limit and the statutory limit, each statement day of 2008

252 statements, to Lowest on

Debt subject to the limit and the statutory limit, each statement day, 2 January 2008 to 31 December 2008, Room under the limit shaded

The tinted band is the room between the debt subject to the limit and the statutory limit (U.S. Treasury, Fiscal Data, Daily Treasury Statement, Debt Subject to Limit): debt $10.64T, limit $11.31T, room $674.73B on .

The linesLatest:

  • Debt subject to the limit$10.64T
  • Statutory limit$11.31T

Treasury's cash balance at the close of each statement day of 2008

252 statements, to Lowest on

Treasury's cash balance at the close of each statement day, 2 January 2008 to 31 December 2008

Each point is one Daily Treasury Statement; pointing at the chart shows its date and figures. A gap is a day the limit was suspended.

Select a line to followLatest:

Inspect and compare dates

The year's last statement beside the day room left was lowest and the year's first statement. Every statement day of 2008 is in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".

MeasureLast statementLowest roomFirst statement
Statement day
Subject to the limit10,640,2739,476,2389,126,339
Statutory limit11,315,0009,815,0009,815,000
Room left674,727338,762688,661
Cash balance106,1235,4077,277

Observed .

In 2008

Room left fell from $688.66 billion on to $674.73 billion on .

Room left stayed above $1 billion on every statement day of the year.

Every year, side by side

The limit

From , the limit was $10.62 trillion, up from $9.81 trillion.

From , the limit was $11.31 trillion, up from $10.62 trillion.

The limit in force today

Understanding near the limit

Where it stands today

Room left was under $1 billion on 0 statement days of 2008; the lowest was $338.76 billion, on .

What counts as near the limit?

A statement day counts as near the limit when room left is under $1 billion: under extraordinary measures Treasury keeps a small room, never exactly zero.

The numbers behind the chart

What did each statement day of 2008 say?252 days, newest first, $ million
Each Daily Treasury Statement of 2008 ($ million)
DateSubject to the limitLimitRoom leftCash balance
10,640,27311,315,000674,727106,123
10,489,20611,315,000825,794112,203
10,490,28311,315,000824,717115,724
10,488,76211,315,000826,238115,831
10,522,44411,315,000792,556118,058
10,537,56511,315,000777,435123,782
10,503,15911,315,000811,841132,738
10,533,73111,315,000781,269126,586
10,533,94011,315,000781,060127,195
10,591,13611,315,000723,864120,443
10,566,06411,315,000748,936125,252
10,591,04211,315,000723,958122,021
Show 240 more rows
DateSubject to the limitLimitRoom leftCash balance
10,532,30511,315,000782,69546,964
10,533,05611,315,000781,94448,819
10,583,64211,315,000731,35841,646
10,591,25211,315,000723,74847,707
10,588,99211,315,000726,00852,080
10,588,11811,315,000726,88249,761
10,588,65911,315,000726,34155,986
10,610,70211,315,000704,29857,345
10,619,86311,315,000695,13777,800
10,615,75911,315,000699,24175,691
10,595,72411,315,000719,27666,385
10,579,16311,315,000735,83717,355
10,589,53011,315,000725,47024,054
10,585,35911,315,000729,64168,933
10,586,34511,315,000728,65583,394
10,586,25711,315,000728,74391,193
10,583,40611,315,000731,59468,457
10,591,41811,315,000723,58274,265
10,549,65211,315,000765,34846,608
10,548,34311,315,000766,65758,338
10,509,29911,315,000805,70158,912
10,549,24911,315,000765,75152,985
10,552,80811,315,000762,19260,354
10,552,51511,315,000762,48563,322
10,555,24011,315,000759,76068,773
10,497,87611,315,000817,12418,652
10,497,07211,315,000817,92819,041
10,487,02311,315,000827,97725,419
10,504,70211,315,000810,29843,998
10,463,21811,315,000851,78227,494
10,459,35211,315,000855,64819,484
10,460,16811,315,000854,83220,589
10,457,80911,315,000857,191132,693
10,456,77311,315,000858,227131,905
10,456,85011,315,000858,150136,672
10,429,62311,315,000885,37755,625
10,401,61611,315,000913,38432,602
10,399,03711,315,000915,96339,452
10,268,83211,315,0001,046,1688,064
10,265,69211,315,0001,049,30810,293
10,260,75611,315,0001,054,24423,983
10,229,03111,315,0001,085,9693,987
10,228,70811,315,0001,086,2924,648
10,200,70011,315,0001,114,3004,804
10,179,74011,315,0001,135,2605,544
10,158,75011,315,0001,156,2506,095
10,122,20811,315,0001,192,7924,894
10,120,50211,315,0001,194,49811,101
10,082,96410,615,000532,0365,535
10,059,39810,615,000555,6025,278
9,959,85010,615,000655,15032,988
9,879,94710,615,000735,0535,464
9,823,64310,615,000791,3573,899
9,783,66310,615,000831,3374,976
9,723,17310,615,000891,8275,175
9,726,59510,615,000888,4054,535
9,720,82410,615,000894,1764,428
9,661,94110,615,000953,0595,378
9,599,51610,615,0001,015,4845,345
9,582,27110,615,0001,032,7295,512
9,574,84910,615,0001,040,1515,440
9,569,07910,615,0001,045,9215,069
9,618,10210,615,000996,8984,798
9,616,83110,615,000998,1694,175
9,619,82310,615,000995,1775,412
9,627,72510,615,000987,2755,127
9,603,74510,615,0001,011,2554,570
9,604,49410,615,0001,010,5064,434
9,602,82110,615,0001,012,1794,649
9,602,63410,615,0001,012,3665,606
9,602,72110,615,0001,012,2794,029
9,580,50710,615,0001,034,4934,681
9,583,94710,615,0001,031,0534,863
9,563,21110,615,0001,051,7894,989
9,569,99310,615,0001,045,0074,682
9,555,83410,615,0001,059,1664,847
9,552,83310,615,0001,062,1674,761
9,552,67610,615,0001,062,3244,993
9,542,74810,615,0001,072,2525,177
9,549,07810,615,0001,065,9225,658
9,542,56710,615,0001,072,4334,695
9,541,23710,615,0001,073,7634,275
9,527,58510,615,0001,087,4155,004
9,533,48210,615,0001,081,5184,715
9,514,14110,615,0001,100,8594,873
9,509,87810,615,0001,105,1224,422
9,507,96210,615,0001,107,0384,949
9,505,87810,615,0001,109,1225,156
9,503,93410,615,0001,111,0664,798
9,504,38710,615,0001,110,6134,789
9,499,68010,615,0001,115,3204,824
9,491,37510,615,0001,123,6254,831
9,520,22110,615,0001,094,7795,256
9,468,39710,615,0001,146,6034,271
9,473,3899,815,000341,6114,848
9,473,2329,815,000341,7684,658
9,476,2389,815,000338,7625,407
9,475,6479,815,000339,3535,660
9,462,3699,815,000352,6316,720
9,468,5169,815,000346,4844,853
9,456,0009,815,000359,0005,696
9,453,7159,815,000361,2855,220
9,453,3549,815,000361,6464,999
9,440,4279,815,000374,5734,036
9,445,3869,815,000369,6144,756
9,434,0959,815,000380,9054,024
9,436,8389,815,000378,1625,148
9,437,9929,815,000377,0084,718
9,428,8449,815,000386,1564,355
9,435,3959,815,000379,6055,282
9,429,1169,815,000385,8845,144
9,427,5429,815,000387,4585,370
9,409,0809,815,000405,9204,139
9,403,4739,815,000411,5274,954
9,427,9019,815,000387,0994,978
9,298,9289,815,000516,0725,472
9,303,9199,815,000511,0814,805
9,306,3169,815,000508,6844,208
9,314,6049,815,000500,3964,529
9,308,5589,815,000506,4425,562
9,305,8379,815,000509,1635,560
9,305,3119,815,000509,6894,514
9,327,4869,815,000487,5144,172
9,331,9559,815,000483,0454,763
9,322,0559,815,000492,9457,413
9,350,6049,815,000464,3964,555
9,350,4449,815,000464,5564,472
9,363,6539,815,000451,3474,369
9,346,8409,815,000468,1605,166
9,342,4249,815,000472,5764,167
9,340,7509,815,000474,2504,933
9,342,4399,815,000472,5615,439
9,331,4079,815,000483,5935,278
9,330,9109,815,000484,0905,367
9,331,8079,815,000483,1935,217
9,324,0049,815,000490,9964,620
9,311,6789,815,000503,3224,188
9,311,4219,815,000503,5794,415
9,313,9769,815,000501,0245,177
9,314,3499,815,000500,6515,042
9,312,9949,815,000502,0064,825
9,294,1049,815,000520,8964,420
9,299,7519,815,000515,2494,797
9,277,4479,815,000537,5534,526
9,273,0449,815,000541,9564,691
9,272,6119,815,000542,3892,973
9,285,3969,815,000529,6044,020
9,291,5179,815,000523,4835,409
9,287,2019,815,000527,7994,874
9,285,7539,815,000529,2474,693
9,285,2489,815,000529,7524,218
9,280,4139,815,000534,5875,730
9,278,6269,815,000536,3746,342
9,272,9419,815,000542,0594,133
9,267,8359,815,000547,1655,288
9,267,2399,815,000547,7614,270
9,298,5679,815,000516,4334,955
9,260,2489,815,000554,7527,417
9,259,6489,815,000555,3526,299
9,256,8919,815,000558,1095,170
9,255,0589,815,000559,9425,867
9,263,5779,815,000551,4235,570
9,263,0149,815,000551,9864,519
9,276,3789,815,000538,6226,351
9,293,7219,815,000521,2795,294
9,289,4889,815,000525,5125,737
9,322,0269,815,000492,9744,614
9,330,3079,815,000484,6936,600
9,365,5589,815,000449,4425,545
9,363,6699,815,000451,3313,919
9,363,5379,815,000451,4634,698
9,358,3779,815,000456,6233,437
9,367,0919,815,000447,9095,355
9,362,0519,815,000452,9496,263
9,359,1109,815,000455,8905,759
9,357,9419,815,000457,0593,558
9,375,4109,815,000439,5906,013
9,367,1539,815,000447,8476,613
9,358,1369,815,000456,8645,552
9,327,2849,815,000487,7164,346
9,331,6279,815,000483,3734,891
9,313,1969,815,000501,8044,944
9,319,5729,815,000495,4285,628
9,314,6049,815,000500,3964,880
9,311,1809,815,000503,8206,590
9,310,7389,815,000504,2624,879
9,301,7979,815,000513,2035,364
9,307,8589,815,000507,1424,980
9,297,7279,815,000517,2735,572
9,326,4439,815,000488,5575,002
9,326,1629,815,000488,8385,144
9,315,3939,815,000499,6075,249
9,320,9249,815,000494,0765,349
9,314,8919,815,000500,1094,984
9,311,8549,815,000503,1464,786
9,312,7749,815,000502,2265,590
9,298,5259,815,000516,4754,794
9,297,5429,815,000517,4585,327
9,286,3719,815,000528,6295,504
9,275,6839,815,000539,3174,424
9,261,3959,815,000553,6055,171
9,248,7449,815,000566,2565,103
9,245,1559,815,000569,8454,758
9,238,6609,815,000576,3405,071
9,237,2679,815,000577,7334,390
9,232,9569,815,000582,0445,077
9,212,2839,815,000602,7174,525
9,209,3819,815,000605,6195,241
9,206,5629,815,000608,4382,992
9,209,4389,815,000605,5625,291
9,162,2049,815,000652,7964,979
9,168,8829,815,000646,1185,738
9,163,9749,815,000651,0265,408
9,162,2859,815,000652,7155,013
9,159,5889,815,000655,4126,052
9,141,2799,815,000673,7214,841
9,142,7019,815,000672,2995,220
9,137,3709,815,000677,6305,905
9,128,7909,815,000686,2105,699
9,155,8429,815,000659,1585,773
9,118,4499,815,000696,5515,082
9,124,7859,815,000690,2155,053
9,120,0959,815,000694,9054,463
9,119,1179,815,000695,8834,262
9,111,9769,815,000703,0245,166
9,109,0919,815,000705,9094,871
9,107,8199,815,000707,1816,058
9,104,9629,815,000710,0385,375
9,103,8019,815,000711,1994,913
9,106,9739,815,000708,0275,674
9,110,7149,815,000704,2864,762
9,115,7829,815,000699,2185,033
9,113,8139,815,000701,1875,237
9,113,8529,815,000701,1485,018
9,112,4389,815,000702,5625,363
9,117,1029,815,000697,8984,791
9,115,3259,815,000699,6755,728
9,113,0179,815,000701,9835,142
9,110,2789,815,000704,7224,719
9,126,3399,815,000688,6617,277

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What were the year's figures, at a glance?2008
The debt limit in 2008
MeasureValue
Statement days held252
Lowest room left ($ million)338,762
Day of the lowest room
Near the limit: room under this amount ($ million)1,000
Statement days near the limit0
Statement days with the limit suspended0
How much room was left at the end of each month of 2008?$ million
Last statement day of each month ($ million)
MonthDateSubject to the limitLimitRoom leftCash balance
January 20089,155,8429,815,000659,1585,773
February 20089,275,6839,815,000539,3174,424
March 20089,358,1369,815,000456,8645,552
April 20089,298,5679,815,000516,4334,955
May 20089,324,0049,815,000490,9964,620
June 20089,427,9019,815,000387,0994,978
July 20089,520,22110,615,0001,094,7795,256
August 20089,580,50710,615,0001,034,4934,681
September 20089,959,85010,615,000655,15032,988
October 200810,504,70211,315,000810,29843,998
November 200810,595,72411,315,000719,27666,385
December 200810,640,27311,315,000674,727106,123

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

When did the limit change in 2008?A dash means suspended
Changes in the statutory limit ($ million; a dash means suspended)
First statement dayLimit beforeLimit after
9,815,00010,615,000
10,615,00011,315,000
When are the figures from?

Observed .

Room under the limit from the U.S. Treasury, Fiscal Data.

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