CBO Reports $475 Billion Deficit for First 5 Months of Fiscal Year

The United States borrowed $475 billion in the first five months of fiscal year 2022, with a $216 billion deficit in February, according to the latest Monthly Budget Review from the Congressional Budget Office. The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

As we enter spring, a time of renewal, it's time to get serious about our national debt. In the first five months of this fiscal year, we borrowed an average $3 billion per day. Faced with today's challenges and record-high inflation, policymakers can't keep heading down this unsustainable path. While February’s deficits are lower than this time last year, the fall largely reflects the end of one-time COVID relief, not an improvement in our underlying fiscal outlook.

The Federal Reserve will soon decide whether to increase interest rates as one tool to curb inflation, but there are also things lawmakers can do while improving our long-term finances. They should put in place gradual changes that reduce spending, raise revenue, and put this country on track to better financial footing.

Our gross national debt surpassed $30 trillion this year and the warning bells on our trust funds are ringing louder and louder as they run closer to insolvency. The emergency borrowing and spending put in place to fight COVID-19 was necessary then, but not now. As COVID-19 measures diminish and our economy continues to gain strength, it is important to take stock of our fiscal situation by prioritizing and paying for programs that make sense.

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