The federal government ran a budget deficit of $386 billion for the first five months of fiscal year 2015, CBO estimates—$10 billion more than the shortfall recorded in the same span last year.
CBO Blog
Under current law, CBO estimates the deficit will total 2.7 percent of GDP in 2015, drop to roughly 2.4 percent for the following three years, and then begin to rise. By 2025, debt held by the public is projected to reach 77 percent of GDP.
Because weather conditions have led the federal government in Washington, DC, to close today, CBO will delay the release of its updated 10-year baseline projections of federal spending, revenues, and budget deficits until Monday, March 9.
Under current law, as of March 16, the Treasury will be at the statutory borrowing limit and will need to use so-called extraordinary measures to continue raising cash. Those measures would probably be exhausted by October or November.
On Friday, March 6, CBO will release its updated 10-year baseline projections of federal spending, revenues, and budget deficits reflecting new information obtained since the January release of the Budget and Economic Outlook: 2015 to 2025.
This report provides information on spending by federal, state, and local governments for transportation and water infrastructure, which totaled $416 billion in 2014.
Forty years ago today, Alice Rivlin was appointed Director of the Congressional Budget Office, and CBO began its service to the Congress and the country.
In calendar year 2014, ARRA—which was enacted in 2009—raised real GDP by between a small fraction of a percent and 0.2 percent and increased the number of full-time-equivalent jobs by between a slight amount and 0.2 million, CBO estimates.
CBO turns 40 on Tuesday, February 24 and is commemorating the event with a panel discussion about CBO's past and future featuring all seven former CBO directors. The event will be held on February 24 at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Join the conversation on Twitter using the event hashtag #CBOat40. The full media advisory can be found on the press page.
Deborah Kilroe is CBO's Associate Director for Communications.
Up to 85 percent of a Social Security recipient’s benefits are subject to the individual income tax. CBO estimates that income taxes on Social Security benefits totaled $51 billion in 2014.