White House raises 10-yr deficit forecast to 9 trillion dlrs

WASHINGTON: The White House projected on Tuesday a whopping 9.05-trillion-dollar US government budget deficit over the next 10 years, an increase of two trillion dollars from its previous estimate.

The administration of President Barack Obama, however, trimmed the 2009 budget deficit projection to 1.58 trillion dollars from a previous estimate of 1.84 trillion dollars.

The mid-session review of economic forecasts and budget projection "shows a smaller 2009 deficit but larger out-year deficits than previously projected," said the White House's Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag.

"Overall, it underscores the dire fiscal situation that we inherited and the need for serious steps to put our nation back on a sustainable fiscal path," he said.

Due to lower estimated costs of financial assistance, particularly bank rescues, amid the economic crisis, the Obama administration hopes to see a 262-billion-dollar improvement in the projected 2009 deficit, he said.

The estimated deficit for the 2009 fiscal year of 1.58 trillion dollars was 11.2 percent of gross domestic product -- down from the previously projected 12.9 percent of GDP, Orszag said.

The new budget figures are expected to fuel a fierce political debate over the fiscal situation and rising national debt as Obama's Republican critics step up their calls for the president to abandon his plans to remake US healthcare and combat climate change.