The US fiscal condition has deteriorated over the last two decades, prompting recent calls from the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for increased attention to long-term fiscal balance. Record peace-time primary deficits during the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in near-record levels of the debt-to-GDP ratio. Rising debt levels as well as rising real interest rates in recent years have boosted federal interest payments as a share of GDP. Projections by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) suggest rising debt levels for the next three decades. In light of the prospective path of debt and deficits in the US as well as many other OECD countries, the consequences of budget deficits and government borrowing, and the definition and assessment of fiscal sustainability, are drawing new attention. The crowding out effects of debt, and the economics of debt management, are being studied in new ways. To promote research on the economics of government borrowing, the macroeconomic effects of government deficits, and the way fiscal policy adjusts to unsustainable situations, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) will convene a research conference on February 26–27, 2026 in Cambridge, MA. This conference will showcase new research findings and contribute to the formulation of a research agenda on debt and deficits.