Forecast for deficit slashed by $100 billion

The White House Wednesday slashed its forecast for the fiscal 2005 budget deficit by nearly $100 billion after the government raked in unexpectedly large tax revenues in recent months.

The Bush administration projected a deficit of $333 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, according to the Office of Management and Budget�s �midsession� update.

President Bush, at a meeting with his Cabinet, hailed the numbers and said he could cut the deficit gap in half sooner than his earlier promise of 2009.

�I told the Congress and told the country we�d cut the deficit in half by 2009,� Bush told reporters during the meeting.

�We�re ahead of projections now. These numbers indicate that we�re going to cut the deficit in half faster than the year 2009 so long as Congress holds the line on spending,� he added.

The revised budget gap was sharply narrower than the $427 billion estimate the Bush administration gave in February with the release of its proposed budget. It was also down from 2004�s deficit of $412 billion, which was a record high.