US Budget Gap Hits Record $1.1 Trillion for Fiscal Year So Far

The US budget deficit continued to swell in February, pushing the shortfall to $1.15 trillion over the first five months of the fiscal year, with the increasing cost of Medicare and servicing government debt contributing to the widening.

For February alone, the deficit grew to $307 billion, the Treasury Department said in a release Wednesday. The gap for the fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, is 17% larger than the prior year after adjusting for differences in the calendar.