The federal budget deficit swelled to a record of more than $3 trillion with one month left in the current fiscal year, the Treasury Department announced Friday.
The federal government added $200 billion to the deficit in August.
The Congressional Budget Office earlier this month projected increasing deficits due in large part to the federal government’s response to the pandemic.
It estimated that the federal deficit for the current fiscal year would be $3.3 trillion, more than triple the shortfall recorded in fiscal year 2019.
The anticipated deficit would be 16% of gross domestic product, the largest since 1945, when the nation financed its World War II efforts.
Nearly $4 trillion has been allocated to combat the effects of the virus, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The federal debt held by the public is projected to exceed 100% of the gross domestic product in 2021 and surge to 107% in 2023, which would be the highest in the nation’s history, according to the CBO.
By 2030, the debt would equal 109% of GDP, according to the CBO.
