1st. Republican Takes On Warren Buffett's Challenge

Congressman Takes Buffett Up On His Offer, Buffett Says He'll Write The Treasury A $49,000 Check

Warren Buffett has written his first check to the U.S. Treasury since announcing his pledge to match Republican donations to pay down the national debt a week ago.

Carol Loomis, Fortune's senior editor-at-large and long-time friend of Buffett's, reports that the Omaha investor received a letter from Congressman Scott Rigell of Virginia .

In it, Rigell details the $49,000 he had donated to Treasury in total in 2011 and 2012 and asks Buffett to match both (full letter is below).

Buffett agreed (full letter below).

Lest we raise your hopes that the national debt is over as an issue, current U.S. debt stands at approximately $15.2 trillion.

Apologies, but it's official policy that there can be no completely feel-good stories about U.S. debt.

Full letter from Congressman Scott Rigell:



Full response from Buffett: