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.

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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

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Source Links

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