US budget deficit hit record $3.132 tn during fiscal 2020
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MUSCAT: Eng Said bin Hamoud al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, yesterday toured the alignment of Phase 2 of the Al Sharqiyah Expressway Project, as well as the proposed site of a new port in Sur Industrial City.
Al Maawali was given an update on the status of the remaining 40 km stretch of the project, which runs through the wilayats of Al Kamil W’al Wafi and Sur. Officials connected with the project delivery also gave their assessment of the progress made thus far, delays in its implementation, and the timeframe for its completion.
Recently, the ministry opened a 206-km section to traffic, out of a total length of 246 km.
Al Maawali later visited Sur Industrial City for a tour of the site of a proposed port facility. He was briefed by specialists from the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn) on the location and components of the proposed port and its associated services. The minister was accompanied by Hilal bin Hamad al Hassani, CEO of Madayn.
WASHINGTON: The US budget deficit hit a record $3.132 trillion during fiscal 2020, more than triple the 2019 shortfall due to massive coronavirus rescue spending, the US Treasury said.
The deficit more than doubled the previous record of $1.416 trillion in fiscal 2009, when the United States was battling a financial crisis.
At the start of the 2020 fiscal year ended September 30, the US government had been forecast to rack up a $1 trillion deficit before coronavirus lockdowns began in March, shutting down large portions of the travel, retail and small business sectors of the economy.
Outlays for fiscal 2020 jumped $2.105 trillion from 2019 to a total of $6.55 trillion, with the increase made up almost entirely from coronavirus aid programmes: increased healthcare costs, stimulus checks and unemployment compensation, along with the cost of small business and corporate rescue programmes approved by Congress.
As a result of programmes that kept paychecks flowing to laid off workers through September, receipts for the full year fell only about 1 per cent or $43 billion from fiscal 2019, totalling $3.42 trillion.
The final fiscal 2020 deficit numbers come as the Trump administration and Congress have been unable to agree on a new round of coronavirus stimulus, with many Senate Republicans calling for fiscal restraint in another package.
A joint statement from the US Treasury and the White House Office of Management and Budget emphasised an “incredible comeback” of economic activities as businesses reopened over the summer months.
“The administration remains fully committed to supporting American workers, families, and businesses and to ensuring that our robust economic rebound continues,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
In September, the year’s final month, the US budget deficit was $125 billion, compared with an $83 billion surplus in September 2019, the Treasury said.
September receipts totalled $373 billion, just $1 billion below a year earlier as higher Federal Reserve earnings and excise tax collections made up for lower personal and corporate income tax receipts.