Treasury Confirms $67 Billion Deficit in First Month of Fiscal Year

The United States borrowed $67 billion in the first month of fiscal year 2024, according to the latest Monthly Treasury Statement from the Treasury Department.

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

We're a month into the fiscal year and we’ve already borrowed $67 billion. This is despite an infusion of revenue from delayed tax collection from California and other areas of the country that had tax payments pushed due to natural disasters. Our debt is rising out of control, and with interest rates this high it is only getting worse.

To be sure, the news isn’t all bad. According to our Debt Thermometer, lawmakers have enacted about $1.3 trillion of ten-year deficit reduction in 2023, thanks to the Fiscal Responsibility Act. And there’s talk of a fiscal commission that could make further progress.

Nonetheless, our debt remains unsustainable. We are on course to borrow another $19 trillion over the next decade alone, while interest costs are surging past other parts of the budget.

Policymakers need to recognize the gravity of this situation and implement measures to slow spending growth, strengthen revenue collection, save our major trust fund programs, and support stronger economic growth. That starts with paying for any new spending and tax cuts that might be necessary, including true emergency spending when possible.

Our leaders should prioritize fiscal discipline and responsibility, rather than continuing to pass the bill to future generations.

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For more information, please contact Matt Klucher, Communications Manager, at klucher@crfb.org.