US analysts lower 2015 budget deficit forecast to USD 426B

Congress' official budget analyst projected today that this year's US budget deficit will drop to USD 426 billion, the lowest shortfall of Barack Obama's presidency in a report providing political ammunition to Democrats and Republicans.
But the annual summertime update by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office also contained words of warning. It cautioned that without action by lawmakers, a graying population and growing health care costs will push annual federal deficits upward again later this decade, spiking back above USD 1 trillion in 2025.
The budget office released its figures two weeks before lawmakers return to the Capitol from a summer break steering toward a budget clash.

The Republican-led Congress has approved a blueprint that uses spending curbs on Medicare, Medicaid and other programs to claim a balanced budget in a decade, a plan Democrats have derided as harsh and unrealistic.
Democrats are likely to use today's report to argue that planned Republican budget cuts are not necessary, while the Republicans said it demonstrates that action to tame deficits is needed now.
As long as the GOP controls Congress and Obama remains in office, the odds for a major deficit-reduction deal seem slim. "I would caution those who would use this report as an opportunity to take these short-term savings and push for more spending," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, a Republican.

He said "real, substantive budget reforms and savings will have to be on the table during any spending negotiations."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has repeatedly vowed that partisan spending clashes will not lead to a government shutdown this fall.
But it could be hard for Republican leaders to win the backing of many conservative lawmakers, who are insisting on cutting federal spending on Planned Parenthood. Secretly filmed videos have shown the organization's officials discussing how they provide fetal tissue to medical researchers.