The maximum amount of money the government is allowed to borrow is known as the debt ceiling.
Only two countries have debt ceilings that are set at a specific dollar amount: the U.S. and Denmark. Other nations have rules limiting debt to a percentage of their GDP. In the U.S., Congress established the debt ceiling during World War I to ensure the government was being financially responsible about the amount it borrowed — and Congress regularly votes to raise it. There is frequent political sparring in the U.S. every time debt threatens to reach that upper limit.