Debt limit

The debt limit (or debt ceiling as it is sometimes called) is a self-imposed cap on the amount of borrowing the United States government can make from other entities (the people, foreign governments, etc). Since the limit is self-imposed, it can also be arbitrarily raised or lowered on the vote of Congress.

Reagan Speech Relevance

In 'A Time For Choosing', Reagan explains that

We have raised our debt limit three times in the last twelve months.

These increases are as follows:

Aug. 31 1963: raise to $309,000,000,000

Nov. 26, 1963: raise to $315,000,000,000

June 29, 1964: raise to $324,000,000,000

Source Links

Limits on Federal Debt: 1940–Current (whitehouse.gov)