Congress Urges Spending Restraint

Congress Urges Spending Restraint
Facing Largest Deficit Since 1945, Obama Names Official to Help Retool Budget

The nation's budget deficit will soar to an unprecedented $1.2 trillion this year, congressional budget analysts said yesterday, a startling tide of red ink that could dampen enthusiasm on Capitol Hill for some of President-elect Barack Obama's most ambitious priorities.
In the first official estimate of the damage done to the nation's finances by a weakening economy and various financial-sector bailouts, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that the gap between government spending and available revenue will exceed 8 percent of the overall economy by the end of September, a chasm not seen since the end of World War II.
The news drew a grim reaction from Congress, where the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), called the figure "jaw-dropping." While lawmakers said they expect to dig this year's hole even deeper by approving a massive stimulus package aimed at pulling the nation out of recession, Conrad and his House counterpart, Rep. John M. Spratt Jr. (D-S.C.), said they have warned Obama to limit the package to temporary measures that will not add to the deficit in future years.

U.S. Congressional Budget Office Articles on washingtonpost.com