The U.S. budget deficit soared to $2.24 trillion during the first nine months of fiscal year 2021, which ends on Sept. 30, the U.S. Treasury Department reported on Tuesday.
Federal revenue for the nine-month period ending in June rose to $3.05 trillion, while total outlays rose to $5.29 trillion, driven by payments for jobless benefits and COVID-19 relief programs, according to the department.
Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the U.S. budget deficit for fiscal year 2021 would reach $3 trillion, close to the $3.13 trillion recorded in fiscal year 2020, which was the largest relative to the size of the economy since World War II.
The White House has unveiled a $6 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2022, drawing backlash from Republican lawmakers and budget watchers.
“As for the larger reconciliation package, the spending of an additional $3 trillion, $4 trillion, or even $6 trillion – without having seen enough credible revenue increases or spending cuts to pay for it – is deeply concerning,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a recent statement.
“With debt on track to reach a new record and the economy showing signs of recovery, any large-scale investments must not add to the debt and reconciliation instructions should add to zero,” MacGuineas said, adding policymakers should put the country on a sound fiscal path before debating how to pass trillion dollars in new policies.
“The budget process is spiraling out of control. We all know we need a better budget process, but a good start would be to follow the rules we currently have. This is not the summer to break the budget,” MacGuineas said.
Source: Xinhua