The U.S. budget deficit for the current fiscal year is estimated to fall to its lowest level during President Barack Obama’s presidency.
In a new budget and economic outlook released Monday, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit for fiscal year 2015 would come in at $468 billion, down from $483 billion in fiscal year 2014.
The deficit was a whopping $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2009, when Obama took office.
“The federal budget deficit, which has fallen sharply during the past few years, is projected to hold steady relative to the size of the economy through 2018,” CBO concluded. “Beyond that point, however, the gap between spending and revenues is projected to grow, further increasing federal debt relative to the size of the economy—which is already historically high.”
The primary long-term fiscal challenges are spending under Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare and net interest costs, CBO said.
Under estimates based on current tax and spending laws, the budget office projects that the economy “will expand at a solid pace in 2015 and for the next few years.”
The CBO projected that Obamacare spending on coverage provisions will be 7 percent — or $101 billion — less over a decade than last April’s forecast. The federal government is projected to spend $76 billion in 2015 and $1.35 trillion from 2015 to 2024 under the health care law to broaden insurance coverage.
