US budget deficit expanded slightly in fiscal first half

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The deficit through the first half of the budget year ran slightly above last year’s pace, with the March imbalance up $16 billion over a year ago.

The Treasury Department said Monday that the March deficit came to $52.9 billion compared with a deficit of $36.9 billion in March 2014. Through the first six months of the budget year, the deficit totaled $439.5 billion, 6.3 percent higher than last year’s six-month deficit of $413.3 billion.

The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting a full-year deficit of $486 billion, roughly on par with 2014’s deficit of $483.4 billion.

Congress returned Monday from a two-week recess facing what is expected to be months of wrangling between Republicans and Democrats over competing budget plans.

The latest budget report showed that government revenues over the past six months totaled $1.42 trillion, up 7.3 percent from a year ago. Government spending over the same period totaled $1.86 trillion, an increase of 7.1 percent over the previous year. Spending on Medicare rose 8 percent, and spending on Medicaid shot up 23 percent.