The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) July 14 released its annual Mid-Session Review, which updates the administration’s estimates for outlays, receipts, and the deficit based on economic, legislative, and other changes that have occurred since the president’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 Budget was released in February.
OMB now projects the 2015 deficit to be $455 billion, $128 billion lower than the $583 billion deficit projected in February. As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the 2015 deficit is now projected to equal 2.6 percent, down from 2.8 percent of GDP last year.
Going forward, OMB estimates that the deficit will fall to between 2.2 and 2.4 percent of GDP for 2016 through 2018 and stabilize at 2.7 percent of GDP in the second half of the 10-year budget window.
The report cautions, “The only path forward on the budget is a bipartisan, common-sense solution, one that reverses sequestration for defense and non-defense priorities, as Congress did on a bipartisan basis two years ago and as Members from both parties have urged.”