BYNIV ELIS-09/03/20
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Government watchdogs say a new CBO report projecting a record $3.3 trillion deficit this year may make it harder for Republican budget hawks to agree to another COVID-19 relief package.
The report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released Wednesday, painted a dark outlook by projecting that the deficit for fiscal 2020 will more than double the previous high -- $1.4 trillion in 2009 during the height of the Great Recession.
The report also indicated this year’s deficit will also account for 16 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the highest since 1945. Overall debt is on track to surpass 100 percent of GDP next year, and break its World War II record by 2023, according to CBO.
The CBO's report factors in $3.6 trillion in spending that Congress approved in four rounds of COVID-19 emergency relief, raising concerns among conservative lawmakers that the cost of the coronavirus package under negotiation could lead to more harm than good.
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