Following up on my and Craig's recent posts on the OMB and CBO updated economic outlooks released on Tuesday, the Bureau of National Affairs (subscription required) ran a piece yesterday further exploring the effects of the sagging economy on spending and deficit projections, which are often overlooked in the heated debates over this issue.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released strikingly similar updated budget and economic outlook numbers this morning. As expected, the budget deficit will come in just under earlier predictions. OMB's Mid-Session Review places the government's total red ink for the year at $1.58 trillion, while CBO estimates $1.6 trillion. The government's long-term debt, which the White House now predicts will grow faster than previous estimates, will stand at 9.05 trillion in ten years. CBO paints a slightly rosier picture, projecting the 10-year debt to stand at $7.14 trillion, but admits that their assumptions about projected revenues over that time are high by historical standards, and, conversely, their assumptions about projected discretionary spending are low. Although these estimates are hardly certain, especially the long-term debt numbers, there is no doubt they will generate a great deal of discussion.

The Treasury Department released its June Monthly Bank Lending Survey, and the results are...mixed. Overall, outstanding loan balances for the 22 banks receiving TARP funds fell by 1 percent in June, but the new loan originations increased by 13 percent. Looking closer at the data reveals that outstanding loans to consumers fell by 1 percent, while new loans to consumers increased by 9.7 percent in the same period.

The CBO released its Monthly Budget Review for July, 2009 this morning.