Deficit surges to record-high of $864B in June after coronavirus spending

The Congressional Budget Office revised its economic outlook after Congress voted to terminate old spending limitations which kept some federal expenditures in check; senior Capitol Hill producer Chad Pergram reports.

June saw the federal government’s largest monthly budget deficit to date as coronavirus relief programs exploded and tax revenue was slashed by millions of job losses.

The Treasury Department said Monday that the deficit hit $864 billion last month, an amount that surpassed most annual deficits in the nation’s history. The gap for the entire previous fiscal year was $984 billion. The previous monthly deficit record was April with $738 billion.

As stimulus spending has soared the budget deficit hit $3 trillion in the past 12 months through June, or 14 percent of gross domestic product.