The federal deficit surged to a record $413 billion in 2004, the
Treasury Department announced Thursday, injecting the figure into a
presidential campaign in which the two parties have clashed over
President Bush's management of the economy and the budget. The number
was a significant improvement from the shortfalls that analysts
projected earlier this year, including a $521 billion estimate the Bush
administration made in February. In March, the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office estimated a deficit of $477 billion. Both
the administration and the Congressional Budget Office had lowered
their deficit forecasts as the year progressed, due to stronger than
expected revenue collections and lower spending. Even so, the final
deficit figure easily surpassed the previous record in dollar terms - a
revised $377 billion deficit run up last year. With inflation filtered
out, the $413 billion shortfall was the worst since World War II. [more ] and [more ]
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