U.S public debt that is held by foreigners

“U.S. Treasury securities are issued to finance the federal budget deficit.  Of the public debt that is privately held, about half is held by foreigners.”  Read more in this CRS report: China’s Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy, January 09, 2008. Citizen access to CRS Reports that are already in the public domain is provided through Open CRS, a project of the Center for Democracy & Technology; they provide and encourage Congress to provide public access to all CRS Reports. Read more here about the Congressional Research Service.