Happy Talk About $247.7 Billion Deficit is Laughable, Says JEC’s Senior House Dem

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Bush is touting a $247.7 billion budget deficit for the fiscal year ending on September 30. This marks the fifth straight year of budget deficits under the Bush administration – a drastic change from the four straight years of budget surpluses achieved under Clinton administration policies.

Three times during the Bush administration, the budget deficit has reached record highs, including an all-time high of $413 billion in 2004. In addition, the national debt limit has been raised under President Bush by 50 percent in just six years, from $5.95 trillion to $8.965 trillion.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), senior House Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, today released the following statement:

“Only a president with such a historically bad economic record would be this excited about a $248 billion deficit. What he is leaving out of his happy talk is the fact that we were running record surpluses when he took office. Under his watch, those record surpluses turned into record deficits as far as the eye can see. The large budget deficits run up by President Bush have produced record low national saving, record high trade deficits, and record high foreign borrowing. His brand of happy talk is laughable.”

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