WASHINGTON (AP) - The budget scorekeepers for Congress predict that if lawmakers adopt President Bush's budget, the deficit for the current year will fall short of the record figures projected by the administration. The Congressional Budget Office's analysis of Bush' budget for the current year predicts a $371 billion shortfall - $52 billion less than the record $423 billion predicted just last month by the rival Office of Management and Budget, the White House budget agency.
All told, Bush's budget would generate $1.1 trillion worth of budget deficits through 2011, assuming its policies are followed exactly. Many budget experts believe Bush's budget in future years understates the deficits because it assumes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost just $50 billion next year and it contains no funding for the war for 2008 and beyond.
The administration in recent years has consistently put forth deficit estimates in February that have turned out to be too pessimistic when the books are tallied in October. Last year, for example, the White House initially predicted a 2005 deficit of $427 billion; the year-end result was $318 billion.
And in 2004, when Bush promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his term, the White House projected a whopping $521 billion deficit. Even though the actual deficit for that year came in at $413 billion, Bush has used the higher figure as the benchmark for keeping his promise.
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-cong/2006/mar/03/030308638.html
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