who limits the level of the nation's debt
United States debt ceiling Under Article I Section 8 of the United States Constitution, only Congress can authorize the borrowing of money on the credit of the United States. From the founding of the United States until 1917, Congress directly authorized each individual debt issued. To provide more flexibility to finance the United States' involvement in World War I, Congress modified the method by which it authorized debt in the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917.[3] Under this Act, Congress established an aggregate limit, or "ceiling," on the total amount of new bonds that could be issued.