Rising interest rates aren’t just socking it to consumers, they’re also tearing a hole in the federal budget.

The government just paid $659 billion over the last year to service its massive debt.

That’s up nearly $200 billion in the last year alone, and nearly double the $345 billion paid in 2020, the last full fiscal year under President Trump.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said the government now pays more on interest than it does for Medicaid, education or veterans’ programs.

The interest payments work out to $5,500 for every American household, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, another budget watchdog.

Interest rates shot up over the last couple of years, and so has the actual federal debt held by the public, which stood at $21.6 trillion at the start of 2021 but has now surged to $26.6 trillion.

The total U.S. debt including intra-governmental loans tops $33 trillion.

That double-whammy, along with persistent rising costs of Social Security and Medicare, have fueled growing unease about the government’s ability to meet its future financial promises.

The Peterson Foundation released new polling this week showing nearly 90% of voters want to see Congress create a bipartisan fiscal commission to suggest answers.

“With interest costs rising rapidly and essential programs like Social Security on unstable footing, now is the time for a responsible, forward-looking approach to stabilize our debt [and] put America on a stronger, more prosperous path,” said Foundation CEO Michael A. Peterson.

The commission idea got a boost this week with the election of new House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican.

“We are going to establish a bipartisan debt commission to begin working on this crisis immediately,” Mr. Johnson said.

The $659 billion in interest payments is now the fourth largest line item in the budget, trailing only Social Security, Medicare and defense spending.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.