Presentation by Christina Hawley Anthony, Chief of the Projections Unit in CBO’s Budget Analysis Division, and Robert Arnold, Chief of the Projections Unit in CBO’s Macroeconomic Analysis Division, to the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis.
Summary
This presentation provides an overview of the Congressional Budget Office’s most recent budget and economic projections, which were published on August 21. In those projections, the federal budget deficit is nearly $1 trillion in 2019 and averages $1.2 trillion each year between 2020 and 2029. Because of persistently large deficits, federal debt held by the public is projected to grow steadily, reaching 95 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2029.
Real GDP is projected to grow by 2.3 percent in 2019, supporting strong labor market conditions that feature low unemployment and rising wages. Economic growth is projected to slow to an average of 1.8 percent through 2029, which is less than the long-term historical average. That slowdown occurs primarily because the labor force is expected to grow more slowly than it has in the past.