Bush team finds lining in record deficit

WASHINGTON - The federal deficit soared to $374.2-billion in 2003, the White House said Monday, a record total that more than doubled last year's red ink and looked like a prelude to even gloomier numbers.

The $374.2-billion breaks down to roughly $1,200 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Because the shortfall marked an improvement from a $455-billion projection the White House made in July, Bush administration officials cited it as evidence that their attempts to fortify the weak economy were working.

"Today's budget numbers reinforce the indications we have seen for some months now: that the economy is well on the path to recovery," Treasury Secretary John Snow said.

White House budget director Joshua Bolten said much the same but also conceded that worse fiscal numbers were on the horizon, estimating the gap for the new year "will likely exceed $500-billion even with the strengthening economy." Bolten said spending restraint and policies aimed at bolstering the economy can wrench the budget onto a course to halve deficits by 2009.

Even so, next year's figure could become a political concern for President Bush and Republicans in Congress. With federal budget years running through Sept. 30, next year's figure will be ready less than a month before elections that will see the GOP fighting to retain control of the White House and Capitol Hill.

Democrats mocked the administration's sunny interpretation and tried to focus attention on the numbers for the budget year just ended. They noted that last year's red ink was more than twice 2002's $158-billion and surpassed the $290-billion record set in 1992.

"I'm somewhat amused to see them say they thought that was good news," said Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee.

As they have done since four years of annual surpluses under President Clinton abruptly degenerated into deficits under Bush, Democrats blamed the Republican president for the reversal.

"The administration's tax cuts and budget policies have not created the promised new jobs over the last three years, but they have created huge deficits that will stifle future growth and burden our children and grandchildren with debt," said Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, the House Budget Committee's No. 1 Democrat.

Some Democrats have accused the White House of purposely padding its deficit forecast last July to lay the groundwork for casting the final budget as good news. Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., raised that question anew on Monday, when it became clear the actual 2003 deficit was $81-billion less than the administration projected three months ago.

About one third of the improvement since the July estimate was because actual revenue collections totaled $26-billion more in 2003 than the White House projected, for a total of $1.782-trillion.

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