Treasury: $381 Billion Deficit in First 2 Months of Fiscal Year

The United States borrowed $381 billion in the first two months of fiscal year 2024, including $314 billion in November, 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:

It’s hard to tell what’s more disheartening about today’s deficit numbers from the Treasury: the fact that we borrowed over a third of a trillion dollars in just two months – $6 billion per day – or the fact that we’re barreling into 2024 without a budget or a serious plan to change course. In truth, both are dismal.

When it comes to budgeting, 2023 has shown us both the good and the bad. We saw the rare moment of success when both sides came together to enact $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction through the Fiscal Responsibility Act – but we also saw the consequences of kicking the can down the road, with multiple funding deadlines and timely budgetary decisions to make in the new year. And the longer we allow our debt to worsen, the less room we ultimately have to respond to the kinds of global emergencies we’re seeing in the world today.

This leaves policymakers with a choice: make the hard choices today by paying for our priorities and putting the national debt on a sustainable trajectory, or saddle the next generation with an even worse situation. 

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