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The United States is accumulating debt at a rate that will force Congress to decide this summer whether to raise the legal limit on our national debt. As the US Treasury approaches the point where it can no longer issue additional debt, an important debate over how to rein in deficit spending is brewing in Congress. While US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced that he will take "extraordinary measures" to delay reaching the debt limit for as long as possible, these extra few months will not correct the country's unsustainable fiscal path. At the same time, Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) and twenty-two cosponsors in the Senate, along with Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA) and ninety cosponsors in the House, have introduced legislation that would require the Treasury Department to make interest payments on the federal debt first priority if the limit is reached.

At this AEI event, Senator Toomey will discuss this legislative proposal and other issues surrounding the forthcoming debt-limit debate in Congress, including how to bring about more comprehensive solutions to the country's fiscal problems and put the United States on the path to prosperity.