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U.S. federal deficit hits 1.27 trillion USD

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-13 03:51

WASHINGTON：The U.S. federal deficit has topped 1.27 trillion U.S. dollars in the first 10 months of this fiscal year, according to Treasury Department statistics released on Wednesday.

The department reported that the U.S. federal government spent 180.7 billion dollars more than it made in July, pushing the red ink so far in the current fiscal year to a new record.

The huge deficit in the 10 months of the current fiscal year started in October was more than triple the amount of red ink incurred during the year-ago period. The deficit for all of 2008 was 454.8 billion dollars.

The Obama administration is forecasting that the budget deficit would rise to an all-time high of 1.84 trillion dollars in the current fiscal year, about four times the record set last year.

Under the administration's estimates, the 1.84-trillion-dollar deficit will be followed by a red ink of 1.26 trillion dollars in 2010, and will never dip below 500 billion dollars over the next decade.

The administration estimates the deficits will total 7.1 trillion dollars from 2010 to 2019.

The worsening budget deficit reflects the soaring costs of the government's economic stimulus package and financial rescue program, and the recession, which has resulted in sharp decline in tax revenue.

While tax revenues are down, the government is paying out more than expected for unemployment benefits and food stamps.