The Congressional Budget Office projected Monday that the country will lose nearly $16 trillion in gross domestic product over the next decade because of the pandemic.
The CBO, Congress’s nonpartisan group of budget and economic experts, projected that economic output, adjusted for inflation, would not return to the pre-pandemic trend until near 2030.
The report states that “business closures and social distancing measures are expected to curtail consumer spending, while the recent drop in energy prices is projected to severely reduce U.S. investment in the energy sector.”
The March $2.3 trillion CARES Act and other relief measures will “partially mitigate the deterioration in economic conditions,” the report says.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who requested the analysis, said that it should prompt Congress to pass additional relief.
“How can [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell look at these catastrophic economic numbers and believe there is no ‘urgency’ to protect America’s working families?” Schumer and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont wrote in a joint statement, adding that “in order to avoid the risk of another Great Depression, the Senate must act with a fierce sense of urgency to make sure that everyone in America has the income they need to feed their families and put a roof over their heads. The American people cannot afford to wait another month for the Senate to pass legislation. They need our help now.”
