UPDATE 5-White House, CBO debt forecasts challenge Obama
Tue Aug 25, 2009 3:06pm EDT

* White House sees 10-year deficit at $9 trillion

* Grim news for Obama's healthcare push

* Slow recovery to hurt tax revenues as spending soars (Adds detail, reaction)

By Alister Bull and Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. national debt will nearly double over the next 10 years, government forecasts showed on Tuesday, challenging President Barack Obama's economic and healthcare overhaul agenda.

The White House midsession budget forecast and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office both forecast that government revenues will be crimped by a slow recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s Great Depression, while spending on retirement and medical benefits soars.

The White House projected a cumulative $9 trillion deficit between 2010 and 2019, while the CBO pegged the total at $7.1 trillion because it assumed higher revenues as tax cuts expire. [ID:nN25198577]

The spending blitz could push the national debt, now more than $11 trillion, to close to $20 trillion. The debt is the total sum the government owes, while the deficit is the yearly gap between revenues and spending.

"If anyone had any doubts that this burden on future generations is unsustainable, they're gone," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, adding that economic stimulus funds should be diverted to pay down U.S. debt.