Mid-Session Review 2015

OMB today released the 2015 Mid-Session Review (MSR), which updates the Administration’s estimates for outlays, receipts, and the deficit in light of economic, legislative, and other developments that occurred since the release of the President’s 2015 Budget in March. 

Under the President’s leadership, the deficit has been cut by more than half as a share of the economy, representing the most rapid sustained deficit reduction since World War II, and it continues to fall.  The MSR projects a $583 billion deficit in 2014, which is 3.4 percent of GDP, nearly $100 billion less than last year’s deficit and $66 billion lower than the Budget projection.  Looking ahead, the MSR estimates that deficits under the President’s proposed policies will fall to below 3 percent of GDP in 2015 and reach 2.1 percent of GDP by 2024.   

At the same time, our economy is moving forward and businesses are creating jobs.  Businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs over the past 52 months.  The housing market is rebounding, with rising home prices lifting four million borrowers above water on their mortgages in 2013 alone.  Americans are purchasing vehicles at a faster pace over the last two quarters than in any quarter since the first half of 2007.  The manufacturing sector has experienced stronger job growth over the last four and a half years than over any comparable period since the mid-1990s.  

But the President believes more can be done, and our top priority must remain accelerating growth while expanding opportunity for all Americans.  The Budget provides a roadmap for making investments to accelerate economic growth, expand opportunity for all hard-working Americans, and ensure our national security, while continuing to improve the Nation's long-term fiscal outlook.  At the same time, the Budget takes key steps to both continue and enhance the Administration's efforts to deliver a government that is more effective, efficient, and supportive of economic growth. 

By investing in our infrastructure and manufacturing, simplifying the tax code for businesses, reforming our skills and job training programs, and fixing our broken immigration system, we can create jobs and achieve stronger and more inclusive economic growth.  By rewarding hard work with fair wages, equipping all children with a high-quality education to prepare them for a good job in the future, making sure a secure retirement is within reach, and ensuring health care is affordable and reliable, we can expand opportunity for all Americans.  By eliminating wasteful tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and making common sense reforms to Government programs, we can manage our Government more efficiently and effectively, and continue to cut the deficit in a balanced way.

Brian Deese is the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget