Fourth and finally, as investors' demands for long-duration securities may have increased over the past few years, the supply of such securities seems not to have kept pace. The average maturity of outstanding Treasury debt, for example, has dropped by 1‑1/2 years since its peak in 2001, a trend just now beginning to turn with the Treasury's reissuance of the thirty-year bond. Corporations and households, however, have taken advantage of low long-term rates to lengthen the duration of their debt in recent years, which has compensated to some extent for the reduced duration of available Treasury debt.

I do support the Treasury's decision to resume issuance of thirty-year bonds.  Given the large current and prospective federal financing needs, it is prudent to distribute the Treasury's borrowing across the yield curve.  Moreover, long-term interest rates are currently quite low, apparently reflecting in part strong demand among investors for long-term issues.  In these circumstances, it is sensible for the Treasury to accommodate this demand in part by issuing thirty-year securities.