[www.treasurydirect.gov](http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current) puts the debt at around $17.3 trillion (this will change, so I'm not putting an exact amount).

A related quote from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us_debt)
>On December 12, 2013, debt held by the public was approximately $12.312 trillion or about 73% of Q3 2013 GDP[5][6] Intragovernmental holdings stood at $4.9 trillion (29%), giving a combined total public debt of **$17.226 trillion** or over 100% GDP

Now, the reason I'm doubting this is because of two "dissenters". One says it is $90 trillion
[UC PROFESSOR PEGS NATIONAL DEBT AT NEARLY $90 TRILLION DOLLARS](http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/14127/); and one says the US has a *surplus* of [$1,138.26 trillion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urCrL0R9Zlg)

Are either of those correct? The original article that piqued my interest was in Barrons entitled [No Accounting for Government Cost](http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904227604579198062920358796.html?mod=googlenews_barrons).

A quote from that is 

>The Constitution's statement and account clause requires that "a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time." **Congress' false reporting** has resulted in the violation of several rights, including the right to vote, freedom of speech, due process, equal protection, the right to financial information, and the right to political accountability.

So he is directly claiming that Congress is falsifying data. If you can't view that article, [Google](https://www.google.com/search?q=No+Accounting+for+Government+Cost) No Accounting for Government Cost and select the Barron's article to view the whole article. For some reason the direct link only gives an excerpt.