The lame-duck session gives Congress an opportunity to act on the national debt: $40 trillion is just the tip of the iceberg

From the source

Now that the midterm elections are over and we are entering a lame-duck session, Congress has an opportunity to get to work on restoring federal fiscal sanity and sustainability. In late August, the U.S. passed $40 trillion in total federal debt, a milestone that rightly generated serious attention. While this milestone drew headlines, nominal dollar numbers are the wrong metric to focus on in connection with fiscal matters. This $40 trillion number is only the tip of the financial iceberg that threatens to sink the United States. Based on the latest Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports and the financial results for fiscal 2026, we estimate that total federal liabilities and unfunded social insurance obligations were at least $147 trillion as of Sept. 30, 2026. That is an increase of about $11 trillion in one year, and up from about $20 trillion in 2000. The primary reasons for the increases are the annual deficits, the growth in unfunded Social Security and Medicare…

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