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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 16, 2003

US Government Projects Record High Deficit This Year

The Bush administration projected Tuesday that the federal deficit of the US government will reach to a record high of 455 billion US dollars this year, more than 150 billion dollars higher than US President's forecast earlier this year.


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The Bush administration projected Tuesday that the federal deficit of the US government will reach to a record high of 455 billion US dollars this year, more than 150 billion dollars higher than US President's forecast earlier this year.

The White House also estimated that next year's budget shortfall will hit 475 billion dollars but the deficit would decline to 226 billion dollars in 2008.

President George W. Bush predicted in his budget plan for the fiscal year of 2004 in February that the deficit of this year could increase only to 304 and 307 billion dollars in the fiscal year of 2004.

But many analysts had said the projection was much under-estimated and the red ink in this year would be as high as 400 billion dollars partly because of the cost of the war against Iraq.

While expressing concerns about the soaring deficit of the US government, White House spokesman Scott McClellan also tried to put the best face on the figures of US government deficit.

"The deficit certainly remains a concern, but it's one that is manageable and it's one that we are addressing," McClellan told reporters Tuesday before the projection was released.

"Over next few years, we will cut this deficit in half. It is apriority that we are addressing," he said.

The White House has been saying that the surging of government deficit resulted from slow economic recovery and the costs of fighting terrorism. But Democrats in the US Congress are complaining that the huge tax-cut plans pushed by President Bush resulted in the soaring US government deficit.


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