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The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that the U.S. economy will not make up losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns until 2030.
The cumulative real economic output in 2019 dollars through 2030 will be $7.9 trillion, or 3%, less than what the agency had projected in January. In nominal terms, the shortfall is estimated at $15.7 trillion, according to an analysis comparing the CBO's latest projections with those it released in January that was requested by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
The revised forecast "reflects a significant markdown in CBO's projection of real (inflation-adjusted) production in the United States as a result of the pandemic," writes CBO Director Phillip Swagel in a letter to Schumer.
"Business closures and social distancing measures are expected to curtail consumer spending, while the recent drop in energy prices is projected to severely reduce U.S. investment in the energy sector," continued Swagel. He noted that recent legislation to address the economic slowdown — Congress has approved more than $2.2 trillion in emergency aid — will "partially mitigate the deterioration in economic conditions."
