The tale of a Democrat-run Congress

Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report projecting that our national debt will rise from $7.5 trillion (53% of GDP) at the end of 2009 to $15 trillion (67% of GDP) by 2020.  Such shocking predictions leave many Americans wondering, why is the national debt skyrocketing out of control?  Certainly both parties are guilty of pushing tax, borrow and spend agendas that cripple our economy and leave us financially dependent.  But since the Democrats gained control of Congress in 2007, these problems have gotten dramatically worse.  Under the Democrat controlled Congress:



  • The national debt has increased by 41.8%: When the Democrats gained control of Congress in January of 2007, the national debt was$8.67 trillion.  It currently stands at a staggering $12.3 trillion.  That is an increase of $3.63 trillion.

  • The deficit has nearly tripled: From FY 1996-2007, a Republican controlled Congress ran a cumulative deficit of $1.2 trillion.  From FY 2008-2010, a Democrat controlled Congress will run a $3.2 trillion deficit.

  • The deficit was higher in FY 2009 than in every year from FY 1996-FY 2007 combined: The deficit in FY 2009 was $1.42 trillion.  The cumulative deficit from FY 1996-FY 2007 was $1.25 trillion.   The FY 2010 deficit is projected to be $1.349 trillion.

  • The debt limit has been increased five times: Congress is currently considering proposals to increase the debt limit for a sixth time from $8.965 trillion to $14.29 trillion.  If enacted the debt limit will have increased by 59.4% since the Democrats gained power.

  • Annual deficits have turned into monthly deficits: On average, in FY 2009 and FY 2010, Congress will run monthly deficits that exceed the annual deficits of the past 12 years.

When the Democrats gained control of Congress, the CBO projected that the federal government would run a budget surplus of $800 billion between FY 2008-2017.  Now, over that same period, the federal government is projected to run a deficit of $7.4 trillion.


This is an $8.2 trillion deterioration of the budget outlook from just three years earlier.