Economy Politics & Government

Red Ink Overflowing: In June, U.S. Borrowed A Typical Year's Worth

by Scott Horsley

With three months left in the government's fiscal year, the U.S. federal deficit is already nearly twice as large as the previous record, which was set in 2009 during the Great Recession.
With three months left in the government's fiscal year, the U.S. federal deficit is already nearly twice as large as the previous record, which was set in 2009 during the Great Recession. Olivier Douliery / AFP via Getty Images

The federal deficit ballooned last month as the U.S. government tried to cushion the blow from the coronavirus pandemic. The red ink in June alone totaled $864 billion.

The federal government ran a bigger deficit last month alone than it usually does all year. Washington spent hundreds of billions of dollars trying to prop up small businesses and assist laid-off workers.

With three months left in the government's fiscal year, the year's deficit of $2.7 trillion is already nearly twice as large as the previous record of $1.4 trillion, set in 2009 during the Great Recession.

While the government is spending heavily on the pandemic, tax collections in June were lower than usual. The filing deadline for 2019 income taxes was postponed until July 15.

Congressional forecasters expect the federal deficit for the full year to reach $3.7 trillion. With infections on the rise, Congress is expected to consider additional relief measures this month.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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