The United States has five territories—Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI)—that are permanently inhabited and have elected governors, territorial legislatures, and non-voting members in the U.S. House of Representatives. Local officials make budgetary decisions about borrowing and therefore the level of debt held by the public in each territory. These territories, like U.S. states in some cases, borrow through financial markets for long-term investments, such as infrastructure projects, or when their budgets are in deficit. The territories, like other borrowers, pay interest on their debt. Both the amounts borrowed and the interest rates determine the amount of interest spending. If unchecked, interest spending can absorb resources that could be used instead to provide government services. In extreme situations, borrowers might be unable to borrow at favorable rates if the market loses confidence in their ability to repay the debt.[…]