The White House has increased its forecast for the US budget deficit for this year by $89 billion, reflecting the recession, a raft of new unemployment claims and corporate bailouts.
A fresh estimate of the deficit showed it coming in at $1.84 trillion - representing a massive 12.9 per cent of gross domestic product - in the current 2009 fiscal year that ends on September 30th.
A prior White House forecast released in February projected a deficit of $1.75 trillion, or 12.3 per cent of GDP.
The report may add to the political challenges facing President Barack Obama as he seeks to push through a new healthcare plan and other big domestic initiatives.
A White House official said the gloomier deficit picture reflected weaker tax receipts as the economy declined and higher costs for social safety-net programs such as unemployment insurance.
Spending on the government rescues for the financial and car industries was also a factor in the higher deficit, said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.
While the Democratic-led Congress has given its approval to the broad outline of Obama's proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year that includes initiatives on healthcare, education and other items, some moderate Democrats and a number of Republicans have expressed wariness about the deficit outlook.
Republicans contend that Obama's agenda would sharply increase the size of government and add to a mountain of debt but Democrat Obama counters that the enormous deficits are a legacy of President George W. Bush, a Republican.
The higher deficits "are driven in large part by the economic crisis inherited by this administration," White House budget director Peter Orszag wrote in his blog on Monday.
The report from the White House Office of Management and Budget also revised the deficit higher for the 2010 fiscal year, forecasting it at $1.26 trillion, or 8.5 percent of GDP, and up $87 billion from the $1.17 trillion projection given in February.
After taking office in January, Obama released a bare-bones version of his budget in February that offered a spending plan for 2010 carrying a price tag of $3.55 trillion. The White House revised up the size of the spending plan to $3.59 trillion.
The US economy shrank at a surprisingly steep 6.1 per cent rate in the first three months of this year.
The new White House figures bring the deficit estimates closer in line with the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which has forecast a $1.85 trillion deficit this year and $1.38 trillion in fiscal 2010.
To allay worries about the deficit and fend off Republican attempts to paint him as a big spender, Obama over the past week has rolled out a series of announcements aimed at showing he is working to stem the red ink.
Last week, Obama said he could wring $17 billion in savings from his budget by cutting waste in areas from weapons systems and education to the cleanup of abandoned mines.
But the cuts in 121 programs amounted to less than one-half of 1 per cent of the total budget for 2010 and even the slim list of reductions is likely to face resistance in Congress.
Reuters