WASHINGTON - The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) today projected the deficit would hit $368 billion in the current fiscal year under existing laws - slightly lower than the record $412 billion shortfall in the 2004 fiscal year, but up $20 billion from the CBO projection of $348 billion in September. The new projection does not include the costs of the war in Iraq - expected to increase by $2.3 trillion according to the report - or President Bush's Social Security plan - which could cost anywhere from $1 trillion to $2 trillion. Also omitted was the estimated $1.8 trillion cost of extending President Bush's tax cuts. Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3), a member of the House Committee on Budget, issued the following statement in response.

“Today’s budget forecast is further evidence that the Bush Administration has mortgaged our children's future with economic policies that are disastrous for the long term. As of today, each American's share of the national debt is $25,817.51. This is debt that we will pay for in higher interest rates - which makes homeownership, college education and countless other pieces of the American dream out of reach of average Americans. And this projection does not even take into account the fiscal spending of the coming year.

“The Administration refuses to acknowledge that its scheme to privatize Social Security will add another trillion dollars to our record debt. With another fiscal year in near-record deficits, the CBO's projection begs the question: how can the American people trust the Bush Administration on Social Security, when it already has imposed such a massive debt tax on future generations?”