IMPEACH BUSH

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. budget deficit last month exceeded the shortfall for President George W. Bush's first full year in office, spurred by purchases of stakes of some of the nation's largest banks.

The deficit in the first month of the 2009 fiscal year climbed to a record $237.2 billion, compared with a gap of $56.8 billion in October last year, the Treasury Department reported today in Washington. Revenue fell 7.5 percent, while spending soared 71 percent.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson spent $115 billion last month to buy shares in eight of the biggest U.S. banks as part of his $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Deteriorating credit conditions and the economic slump are straining the nation's finances and will leave President-elect Barack Obama with a deficit worse than the record $455 billion of last year.

"The deficit is going to explode this year," said David Sloan, a senior economist at 4Cast Inc. in New York. "Given that the economy is going to be even weaker next year, the Obama administration will likely need to spend more, pushing the deficit up" to as much as $1 trillion this year, he said.

Treasury also spent $21.5 billion to buy mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in October, up from $5.1 billion a month earlier, today's report showed.

Higher Than Forecast

The October deficit was forecast to widen to $200 billion, according to the median of 32 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The total exceeded the $232 billion gap predicted by the Congressional Budget Office on Nov. 10.

Corporate income tax receipts fell to $81 million in October, from $6 billion a year earlier, according to the Treasury. Individual income-tax collections declined to $86.2 billion last month, down 10 percent from $95.6 billion a year earlier, the report showed.

Total revenue fell to $164.8 billion in October, compared with $178.2 billion a year ago, according to the Treasury report. Spending increased to $402 billion from $235 billion last year.

Outlays for the Social Security Administration rose by 13 percent from a year ago to $59.2 billion) from $52.6 billion, while Department of Defense spending rose 16 percent to $66.1 billion from $57 billion. Spending by the Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the Medicare and Medicaid health programs, totaled $76.5 billion, up 31 percent.

The Treasury this month said it will more than triple its planned debt sales this quarter to help finance this year's shortfall. The government needs to raise money not only for the TARP program, but also to pay for its bailouts of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"This year's financing needs will be unprecedented," Anthony Ryan, Treasury's acting undersecretary for domestic finance, said in a speech last month.

Borrowing needs are expected to rise to $550 billion in the three months to Dec. 31, compared with the $142 billion predicted in July. Bond trading firms predicted the shortfall may rise to $988 billion in 2009.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Brinsley in Washington at jbrinsley@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 13, 2008 15:05 EST