President Obama’s proposed budget would lead to $6.9 trillion in cumulative deficits over the next 10 years, less than the $9.2 trillion expected currently, according to projections released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office.
The budget office, Congress’ nonpartisan budget agency, found in its own estimates that Obama’s budget would lead to $776 billion more in deficits than the White House’s own economists found. Under his proposed policies, the federal debt held by the public would rise from just under 74 percent of economic output today to 77.4 percent in 2026. Under current law, by contrast, the debt is expected to reach 85.6 percent.
Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget is an outline of proposed policies, very few of which have any chance of being enacted. Released in February, the budget is the last one that will be released by the Obama White House.
Relative to the administration’s own projections, the budget office’s estimates show the deficits narrowing in the next few years, but then growing larger in subsequent years.
Most of the differences, the CBO said, are attributable to the administration expecting faster economic growth.
