U.S. budget deficit widens 27 pct in 10 months of fiscal year

The U.S. federal budget deficit reached 866.8 billion U.S. dollars in the first 10 months of the fiscal year 2019, up by 27 percent from the same period the previous year, the Treasury Department said on Monday.

This July 16, 2019, file photo shows the Capitol Dome in Washington. On Monday, Aug. 12, the Treasury Department releases federal budget data for July. [File photo: AP via IC/Carolyn Kaster]

The 10-month deficit, from October to July, has already surpassed the full-year figure of 779.0 billion dollars for the last fiscal year, according to data from the Monthly Treasury Statement.

The top three outlays for the 10 months were 868 billion dollars on social security, 568 billion dollars on national defense, and 540 billion dollars on Medicare.

Federal expenditures increased to 3.73 trillion dollars in the period, up by 8.0 percent from a year ago, while revenue grew to 2.86 trillion dollars, up by 3.4 percent.

The federal budget deficit in July totaled 119.7 billion dollars, with total outlays reaching 371.0 billion dollars, up by 22.8 percent from the year before, and total revenues 251.3 billion dollars, up by 11.6 percent.

The White House has projected a 1-trillion-dollar budget deficit for the fiscal year 2019, the highest since 2012, Office of Management and Budget said in its recently released Mid-Session Review.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the "Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019," which boosts discretionary spending limits and suspends the public debt limit for the next two years.

The budget deal will lift the budget cap for discretionary spending to 1.37 trillion dollars in 2020 and 1.375 trillion dollars in 2021, expanding defense outlays, demanded by Republicans, and boosting domestic spending, including health care for veterans, sought by Democrats.