US budget surges to record $1.9 trillion so far this year

The US shortfall this year is 30.3 percent higher than the $1.48 trillion deficit run up over the same period a year, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

The United States budget deficit surged to a record of $1.9 trillion for the first seven months of this budget year, bloated by the billions of dollars being spent on coronavirus relief packages. The shortfall so far this year is 30.3 percent higher than the $1.48 trillion deficit run up over the same period a year ago, the US Department of the Treasury said Wednesday in its monthly budget report. The oceans of red ink in both years are largely due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which led the government to approve trillions of dollars in relief to cover three rounds of individual payments, extra unemployment benefits and support for small businesses.