As it usually does in March, CBO has updated the baseline budget projections that it released in January. The new baseline projections incorporate the budgetary effects of recently enacted legislation and updated technical assumptions based on new information (such as data about spending and revenues so far this year and program details released in conjunction with the President’s budget). CBO has not revised its outlook for the economy since January.
March 2012
Policymakers, analysts, and the public continue to express concern about the prospects for job creation. Although the most recent recession ended more than two years ago, the recovery has been slow, and the economy remains in a severe slump.
CBO plans to release its updated baseline projections of federal spending, revenues, and budget deficits for the 2012–2022 period on Tuesday, March 13. CBO’s analysis of the President’s budgetary proposals will be released in a separate report a few days later.
CBO Estimates That the Federal Budget Deficit Totaled $578 Billion for the First Five Months of Fiscal Year 2012
The federal government incurred a budget deficit of $578 billion in the first five months of fiscal year 2012 (that is, October 2011 through February 2012), CBO estimates in its latest Monthly Budget Review—$63 billion less than the shortfall recorded for the same period last year. Without shifts in the timing of certain payments and in the recording of tax refunds, however, the deficit would have been close to $600 billion.
The federal government has used both tax preferences and spending programs to provide financial support for the development and production of fuels and energy technologies in recent decades. At the request of Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, CBO released a brief addressing the following questions:
The federal government supports some private activities—such as home ownership, postsecondary education, and certain commercial ventures—by making or guaranteeing loans. At the end of fiscal year 2011, about $2.7 trillion was outstanding in federal direct loans and loan guarantees.