US budget deficit hits one trillion dollars

The US budget deficit hits almost one trillion dollars in the first half of the current fiscal year, according to figures released by the Treasury. The deficit for the first six months of the fiscal year which began on October 1 was 956.80 billion dollars, said the Treasury's monthly statement of receipts and outlays. Much of the increase in outlays in March came from extraordinary investments by the government in banks and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, loans to credit unions, and increased spending from the stimulus package for unemployment insurance and Medicaid. Some of those investments should be repaid over time, but the government is booking them as cash expenses for now. In March, Fannie Mae received $15.2 billion, Freddie Mac received $30.8 billion, and unemployment benefits totaled $10.6 billion. Receipts during the six-month period to March 2009 period was 989.83 billion dollars while outlays amounted to nearly 1.95 trillion dollars, the data showed.