A $2.8 Trillion Budget Deficit

For Immediate Release

The Congressional Budget Office released its final monthly budget review of fiscal year (FY) 2021 today, concluding the budget deficit totaled $2.8 trillion for FY 2021. The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

At $2.8 trillion, last year’s borrowing was absolutely massive – for the most part utterly justified, but massive nonetheless. Our national debt now stands at $22.2 trillion and is expected to grow by $12 trillion over the next decade before any new borrowing is signed into law.

We must recognize that borrowing makes sense during emergencies, but this cannot become the new normal. Now that the economy appears to be recovering, we must stop borrowing, pay for any new priorities, and put in place a gradual plan to deal with all of this debt.

Fortunately, deficits are likely to shrink as the pandemic subsidies and the economy recovers. But we still face an aging population, rising health care costs, and large structural deficits. Even without additional borrowing, the national debt is headed to record levels by the end of the decade.

As the first step, the President and Congress should follow through on their commitment that Build Back Better add nothing to the debt.

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For more information, please contact Kim McIntyre, Director of Media Relations, at mcintyre@crfb.org.