New CBO Projections Show Weaker Economic Growth
September 21 2020 - 2:41PM
Dow Jones News
By Kate Davidson
WASHINGTON -- The federal government has the capacity to borrow
more if Congress chooses, despite high and rising federal debt,
Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel said
Monday.
The agency released new projections showing weaker economic
growth and significantly higher federal debt over the next 30 years
than it forecast in June 2019, the last time it released long-term
economic projections and before the coronavirus pandemic swept
across the U.S., triggering a deep recession.
Although the long-term fiscal challenges are daunting, Mr.
Swagel said, "the U.S. is not facing an immediate fiscal
crisis."
"The current low interest rates indicate that the debt is
manageable for now and that fiscal policy could be used to address
national priorities, if the Congress chose to do so," he said in a
statement accompanying the new projections.
The projections released Monday are an extension of forecasts
the CBO released over the summer, showing debt as a share of the
economy is on track to hit 100% next year and reach 108.9% by the
end of the next decade, the highest since World War II.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 21, 2020 14:26 ET (18:26 GMT)
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