国际英语新闻：U.S. federal deficit tops $1 trillion

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. federal deficit has topped one trillion dollars for the first time ever, according to Treasury Department statistics released on Monday.

    The Department reported that the U.S. federal government spent 94.3 billion dollars more than it made in June, pushing the red ink so far in the current fiscal year to nearly 1.1 trillion dollars.

    The huge deficit in the nine months of the current fiscal year started in October was more than triple the amount of red ink incurred during the year-ago period.

    In June 2008, the U.S. government ran a surplus of 33.55 billion dollars.

    The Obama administration is forecasting that the budget deficit would rise to an all-time high of 1.84 trillion dollars in the current fiscal year, about four times the record set last year.

    Under the administration's estimates, the 1.84-trillion-dollar deficit will be followed by a red ink of 1.26 trillion dollars in 2010, and will never dip below 500 billion dollars over the next decade.

    The administration estimates the deficits will total 7.1 trillion dollars from 2010 to 2019.

    The worsening budget deficit reflects the soaring costs of the government's economic stimulus package and financial rescue program, and the recession, which has resulted in a sharp decline in tax revenue.

    While tax revenues are down, the government is paying out more than expected for unemployment benefits and food stamps.