U.S. Considers Issuing Debt With Maturities of More Than 30 Years

The U.S. government currently sells Treasury bonds maturing in three decades or less to investors. It considered selling longer-term debt as recently as 2011 when the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, a group of banks, investment firms and hedge funds that advise the Treasury on its debt auction lineup, floated the idea. At that time, dealers were concerned demand from investors would be volatile and unpredictable, making it risky for banks to sell and warehouse the securities, said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LLC.