A new analysis says the 2012 U.S. budget as proposed by President Barack Obama would produce deficits of $9.5 trillion over the next 10 years - trillions more than if Obama's proposals are not adopted.
An independent arm of the U.S. Congress, the Congressional Budget Office, Friday released its preliminary analysis of Obama's 2012 budget, although the government has yet to pass a final budget for the 2011 fiscal year already under way.
The CBO said Obama's budget would reduce the deficit in 2012 and reduce it further until 2015, but that after that the deficit would increase again. The CBO predicted the national debt under Obama's proposals would double by 2021.
White House budget chief Jack Lew said the CBO analysis failed to account for Obama's promises to find funding for some major investment programs, and to cancel the programs if funding is not available. Lew acknowledged that the deficit is "unacceptably high" and that without making changes, the fiscal situation hampers future growth.
Republican Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington State said the Obama administration has moved too slowly in removing regulations that stifle economic growth.
In the Republican's weekly address Saturday, Beutler also says members of her party are determined to reduce government spending and begin discussions on reforming entitlement programs.
The U.S. government's overall accumulated debt now totals more than $14 trillion. It is a figure that has risen rapidly as the government pumped money into the national economy and bailed out failing corporations in an effort to counteract the effects of the 2008 financial meltdown.
