A new Congressional Budget Office estimate released today concluded that the “budget deficit for the current budget year will jump to about $250 billion,” which includes the cost of the Iraq war. This figure, however, does not factor in the “at least $100 billion in additional red ink from an upcoming deficit-financed economic stimulus measure.”
UPDATE: Senate Budget Commitee Chairman Kent Conrad’s (D-ND) statement:
CBO’s new projections show that the deficit will worsen in 2008. This short-term deterioration is due, at least in part, to our slowing economy. And it is important to note that CBO’s baseline projections actually understate the likely short-term deficit levels, because they exclude expected costs such as a stimulus package and additional war funding requested by President Bush. Once these costs are added in, the deficit in 2008 is likely to exceed $350 billion, and the debt is likely to increase by over $600 billion.