Federal deficit hits record $455 billion

The White House, attempting to portray the deficit number in the most positive light, said that the red ink, measured as a share of the economy, equaled 3.2% of the gross domestic product -- below the record of 6%, set in 1983 after President Reagan's tax cuts were implemented.

"The bipartisan stimulus bill and the slow economy are the primary reasons for the increase in deficit," White House budget director Jim Nussle said in a statement. "I am confident the economy can return to stronger growth with a declining deficit -- after working through current challenges -- if Congress limits wasteful and excessive spending."

Democrats blamed Bush and his Republican allies in Congress for wiping out a budget surplus inherited from the Clinton administration through tax cuts that have been criticized for favoring the wealthy and through other spending.

Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, the top Republican on the House Budget Committee, said the deficit was a "warning sign of the immense fiscal challenges just beginning to arise with the retirement of the baby boomers" and should be viewed as a call for Congress to control spending.

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richard.simon@latimes.com