Treasury: U.S. debt has jumped $329 billion since raising limit

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) —

The national debt has jumped $329 billion since Congress raised the debt limit earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Department says.

The Treasury said the public debt was $17.076 trillion Friday, The Hill reported.

When Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling Wednesday, the national debt was $16.747 trillion. Measures the department had taken since May to avoid hitting the debt ceiling caused the jump.

The debt was at $10.627 trillion when President Obama took office, a fact that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called "unacceptable."

Cruz led the effort to shut down the government in an attempt to defund the Affordable Care Act.

Under the deal signed Wednesday, Treasury can borrow what is needed to pay bills due Feb. 7. After that, the department will again have to use extraordinary measures to keep the government running if Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling again.