CBO projects a $188 billion decrease in this year’s federal budget deficit, but debt would then grow

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and JOSH BOAK
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Budget Office says it expects the federal budget deficit to drop by $188 billion this fiscal year to $1.5 trillion. But it’s likely to be a short-lived dip as the annual shortfall will likely rise over the next nine years. The nonpartisan budget office also projects that the nation’s publicly held debt is set to increase from 99% of gross domestic product at the end of 2024 to 116% of GDP by the end of 2034. That’s the highest level ever recorded. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that overall, “the debt is growing faster than the economy, so it is unsustainable.”