US to borrow record $3tn in pandemic spending

Addis Ababa, May 5, 2020 (FBC) -The US has said it wants to borrow a record $3tn in the second quarter, as coronavirus-related rescue packages blow up the budget.

The sum is more than five times the previous quarterly record, set at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

In all of 2019, the country borrowed $1.28tn. The US has approved about $3tn in virus-related relief, including health funding and direct payouts.

Total US government debt is now near $25tn, according to BBC.