The U.S. federal budget deficit is running slightly lower than last year through the first six months of the government's fiscal year, but it still is on track to top $1 trillion for a fourth consecutive year. The Treasury Department said Wednesday the budget deficit in March totaled $198.2 billion, a record for the month, leaving the deficit through the first half of fiscal-year 2012 at $779 billion, down 6.1 percent from a year earlier. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasts a budget deficit of $1.17 trillion for the entire 2012 fiscal year, which started October 1. It would be a small improvement from last year's $1.3 trillion deficit. Chronic budget deficits and how to limit or reverse them is certain to be a top issue in the U.S. presidential election this year.
