The Budget Deficit: Outlook, Implications, and Choices
OCG-90-5
Published: Sep 12, 1990. Publicly Released: Sep 12, 1990.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
GAO reviewed the budget deficit problem facing the nation, the implications of the deficit for the U.S. economy, and the choices that must be made to reduce the deficit problem.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Congress and the President should reach agreement on a multiyear plan to move the general fund budget to approximate balance by 1997. A $300-billion fiscal policy swing could result in total budget surpluses of approximately 2 percent of the gross national product annually by 1997. | A multiyear budget resolution was approved as part of OBRA 1990. | |
| The 102nd Congress should resume budget summit negotiations with the objective of reaching agreement on a comprehensive package of policy changes that will produce an overall budget surplus of about 2 percent of the Gross National Product, about $180 billion, by 1997. | This recommendation was superseded by the content of a report issued June 5, 1992 (OCG-92-2), wherein GAO discussed the positive economic effects of achieving a 2-percent surplus by 2005. | |
| The 102nd Congress should resume budget summit negotiations with the objective of enacting those changes into law in the form of a multiyear budget resolution, along with the substantive legislation required to implement that resolution, by the conclusion of the first session of the 102nd Congress. | A multiyear budget resolution was approved as pert of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1992. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Office of the President | Congress and the President should reach agreement on a multiyear plan to move the general fund budget to approximate balance by 1997. A $300-billion fiscal policy swing could result in total budget surpluses of approximately 2 percent of the gross national product annually by 1997. |
This recommendation was superseded by the content of a report issued June 5, 1992, (OCG-92-2), wherein GAO discussed the positive economic effects of achieving a 2-percent surplus by 2005.
|
Full Report
Office of Public Affairs
Topics
Budget cutsBudget deficitBudget outlaysDeficit reductionEconomic analysisFederal taxesFiscal policiesGovernment collectionsTrust fundsUnified budgets