The Nation : ’86 Deficit May Be Record

The Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office will report this week that the federal deficit this fiscal year appears to be roaring beyond last year’s record of $212 billion and without further action could be nearly $220 billion, government sources said. Under the new Gramm-Rudman law, the automatic cuts this year of $11.7 billion are expected to take effect March 1, reducing the deficit by that amount. But the new estimate of nearly $220 billion could make it harder for President Reagan and Congress to meet the deficit targets in future years. White House officials had predicted that this year’s deficit would be $194 billion.