http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2742101920070928

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the U.S. government fast approaching its current $8.965 trillion credit limit, the Senate on Thursday gave final congressional approval of an $850 billion increase in U.S. borrowing authority.

The Senate voted 53-42 to raise the debt ceiling to $9.815 trillion, the fifth increase in the U.S. credit limit since President George W. Bush took office in January 2001. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the higher debt limit earlier this year as part of the overall budget resolution and the legislation now goes to Bush for his signature.
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U.S. debt stood at about $5.6 trillion at the start of Bush's presidency.

"Increasing the debt limit is necessary to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States of America," said Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the senior Republican on the Finance panel.

Wasn't this country started over some misgivings over a tea tax? (a tax that was enacted to allow a corporation the king and his friends owned to dump tea on the colonies by taxing local tea suppliers out of the market) Is Fred Nietzsche correct? History stuck on repeat?