This Aug. 24, 2020 file photo shows Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin at the White House in Washington. The U.S. government’s deficit in the first three months of the budget year was a record-breaking $572.9 billion. The Treasury Department reported Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 that with three months gone in the budget year, the deficit was $216.3 billion higher than the same October-December period a year ago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
By Martin Crutsinger
The U.S. government's deficit in the first three months of the budget year was a record-breaking $572.9 billion, 60.7% higher than the same period a year ago, as spending to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic surged while revenue declined.
The Treasury Department reported Wednesday that three months into the budget year, the deficit was $216.3 billion higher than the same October-December period a year ago.
The deficit reflects an 18.3% jump in outlays to $1.38 trillion, a record for the period, while revenues fell 0.4% to $803.37 billion. The red ink results from the difference between revenue collections and outlays.
For just the month of December, the deficit totaled a record $143.6 billion.
The shortfall for the 2020 budget year, which ended Sept. 30, climbed to an all-time high of $3.1 trillion. Beginning in the spring, Congress passed trillion-dollar-plus spending measures to combat the harm being done to the economy from a pandemic-induced downturn.
The recession, which has seen millions of Americans lose their jobs, has also meant a drop in tax revenues at a time when the demand on government support programs such as unemployment benefits and food stamps has risen.
The report showed that outlays in December were a record $489.7 billion, while receipts were $346.1 billion.
The spending figure did not include the $900 billion relief package Congress finally passed after months of wrangling because it was not signed into law until the end of the month. President Donald Trump delayed signing the bill, which he called a “disgrace,” because it included only $600 in direct payments to individuals.
President-elect Joe Biden has endorsed boosting the direct payments by another $1,400. He has said that higher amount will be included in another round of relief payments he will ask Congress to approve once he takes office on Jan. 20.
In addition to direct payments, the December relief bill extended two special unemployment benefit programs aimed at cushioning the pandemic’s blow. The unemployment benefits have totaled $80 billion from October through December, up from $5 billion during the same period in the last budget year.
The Congressional Budget Office has forecast that this year's deficit will total $1.8 trillion and the deficit will remain above $1 trillion each year though 2030. The CBO forecast for this year was made before the December relief package was passed and also does not take into account any extra spending that Congress may pass after Biden takes office.
Updated on January 13, 2021, at 3:28 p.m. ET with the latest information.
The House has passed some of the most aggressive gun-control measures in years, including raising the minimum age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 and banning high-capacity magazines. Daniel Webster, Co-Director of the Center for Gun Violence Solutions, explains why this legislation has little chance to pass in the Senate, and what else can be done to curb gun violence in this country.
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
If you have been on the road this past year, you've probably seen more accidents on the road than you ever have. You're not wrong. Traffic fatalities are not only increasing they are hitting historic highs. Almost 43,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier investigates - and finds out why.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
Catching you up on the stories you need to know this morning, mass shooting victims testify on Capitol Hill, the White House outlines its plan to vaccinate kids younger than five years old, and we break down how to protect yourself from monkeypox.
A lot has changed since the pandemic began back in march 2020. COVID-19 caused a huge disruption in the U.S. labor force that is just beginning to normalize. As of last month, about 96% of jobs lost in the pandemic have returned. Still, where people work now looks very different from two years ago. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier looks at where the jobs are now and where they aren't.
Getting you caught up on the stories you need to know this morning: Matthew McConaughey lends his voice to the gun control fight in congress, at least 30 people were injured in Germany after a car plows into a crowd, and a new weight loss drug shows promising results.
Michelle Bond, CEO of the Association for Digital Asset Markets, joins Closing Bell, where she breaks down the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which would not only establish a regulatory structure for digital assets, but hand over crypto oversight to the CFTC instead of the SEC.
Sarah Warbelow, legal director for Human Rights Campaign, joins Cheddar News to discuss why advocates want to overturn the FDA's rule restricting gay and bisexual men from donating blood.
