CBO Blog

  • The federal budget deficit was $746 billion for the first nine months of fiscal year 2019, the CBO estimates, $139 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last year. Revenues were $69 billion higher and outlays were $208 billion higher than during first nine months of 2018.

  • The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for most workers. In this report, CBO examines how increasing the federal minimum wage to $10, $12, or $15 per hour by 2025 would affect employment and family income.

  • In 2018, the federal government spent $492 billion on investment—for physical capital, education and training, and research and development—which represented 12 percent of federal spending and 2 percent of GDP.

  • In our extended baseline projections in The 2019 Long-Term Budget Outlook, budget deficits drive federal debt held by the public to unprecedented levels.

  • If current laws generally remained unchanged, large budget deficits would boost federal debt to unprecedented levels over the next 30 years, CBO projects.

  • CBO is submitting this report to the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate in accordance with section 509 of the CAA Reform Act.

  • CBO released an interactive graphic showing the overall federal budget in fiscal year 2018 as part of its annual update of infographics on the federal budget.

  • CBO will release The 2019 Long-Term Budget Outlook at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 25. The report presents projections of what federal spending, revenues, deficits, and debt would be for the next 30 years if current laws generally did not change.

  • CBO Director Phillip L. Swagel's remarks at the Peterson Foundation’s 2019 Fiscal Summit in Washington, D.C.

  • The federal budget deficit was $738 billion for the first eight months of fiscal year 2019, the CBO estimates, $206 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last year. Revenues were $49 billion higher and outlays were $255 billion higher than during first eight months of 2018.