A new congressional estimate has the U.S. federal deficit for the just-completed 2010 budget year at nearly $1.3 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate puts the deficit about $125 billion below the $1.42 trillion record posted in 2009, meaning the government borrowed 37 cents of every dollar it spent, as tax revenues continued to lag while spending on aid to the poor jumped as the economy slowly emerged from recession. The CBO figure is based on preliminary data but should be close to the Treasury Department's official count due in about a week.
