Coronavirus aid and recession will cause U.S. deficit to reach $3.7 trillion, CBO says

A recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a burst of government spending on testing, healthcare and aid to businesses and households will nearly quadruple the government’s budget deficit to $3.7 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office said Friday.

The 2020 budget deficit will explode after four coronavirus response bills passed by Congress and signed by President Trump promise to pile more than $2 trillion onto the $24.6 trillion national debt in just the remaining six months of the current fiscal year, according to the CBO.

That’s more than double the deficit record set during President Obama’s first year in office as the Great Recession gripped the nation.

The CBO said lawmakers eventually will be forced to tackle the government’s chronic financial woes, if for no other reason than the looming insolvency of Social Security and Medicare.