CBO Estimates $1.2 Trillion Deficit for First Eight Months of Fiscal Year

The United States borrowed $1.2 trillion in the first eight months of fiscal year 2024, including $348 billion in May, according to the latest Monthly Budget Review from the Congressional Budget Office.

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

Just like the heat, borrowing is on the rise and lawmakers should be feeling the pressure to bring it down. With only four months left in the fiscal year, the United States has borrowed $1.2 trillion, a shocking $4.9 billion per day on average. Clearly, we need to figure out our fiscal situation soon, before things get more out of control. 

With little surprise, our economic challenges have continued to mount with our debt only four years away from reaching a record share of the economy and interest costs soaring past our defense budget this year. The Social Security retirement trust fund is still on track to face insolvency in less than a decade with Medicare not far behind. Without changes, retirees will be facing potential across-the-board cuts to their benefits... and yet this is the scenario the leading presidential candidates are promising. 

With rising interest rates, persistent inflation, and looming trust fund insolvency, there is much more to be done to correct our fiscal path. The first step is putting a stop to any new borrowing and working together to reduce the deficit. Our fiscal house is barreling down an unsustainable path and we must act fast before tomorrow's problems become today’s.

###

For more information, please contact Matt Klucher, Assistant Director for Media Relations, at klucher@crfb.org.