The U.S. Department of Treasury today announced that with two months remaining in the government's budget year, the federal deficit has reached a record $395.8 billion. The monthly accounting of spending and revenue showed that the July deficit totaled $69.2 billion, up 27.5 percent from the $54.2 billion shortfall in July 2003, the Treasury Department said. The $395.8 billion deficit through the first 10 months of the government's fiscal year represents a 22 percent increase from the same period a year earlier and now has passed 2003's record deficit of $374.3 billion. The Bush administration is projecting that the deficit for all of the 2004 budget year, which ends September 30th, will be $445 billion. This year will mark the third consecutive budget deficit after four straight years of surpluses. The new monthly report showed that through the first 10 months of the budget year, government revenues totaled $1.53 trillion, including $134.4 billion collected in July. The 10-month total represents 4 percent more than was collected during the same period in 2003. During the last 10 months, the government has spent $1.93 trillion, including outlays of $203.6 billion in July. The 10-month total represents a 7.2 percent increase over spending in 2003.
