Foreign-Held Debt

Statement

Recently, the federal deficit crossed $13 trillion, a large percentage of which is owed to foreign creditors. Currently, China is the single largest holder of U.S. Treasury securities, which are sold to finance our own deficit spending here at home. I introduced an amendment that passed last week with broad bipartisan support, and which will help ensure that Congress and the American people are kept fully informed on the economic and national security risks posed by China's and other nations' enormous holdings of U.S. debt. I also questioned Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about the national security implications of such nations controlling large sums of our debt. My hope is that this legislation will make our nation more secure, and keep Washington more accountable to the American people who have made clear they want the government to rein in out of control spending.

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