CBO Projects $400B Deficit Rise and Four States Sue Over Health Cuts

[00:00] Oliver Grant: From Neural Newscast, I'm Oliver Grant. [00:03] Peter Rowan: And I'm Peter Rowan. [00:05] Peter Rowan: Today, we're analyzing new CBO data that shows federal deficits widening by $400 billion. [00:16] Peter Rowan: We are also tracking a major lawsuit from four states over $600 million in cut health grants. [00:26] Oliver Grant: And we will look at why Taylor Swift is taking a betting company to the Federal Trademark Office to protect her brand. [00:34] Oliver Grant: The Congressional Budget Office released its 10-year budget outlook today. [00:38] Oliver Grant: The report projects that federal deficits will increase by $400 billion over the next decade. [00:46] Oliver Grant: This projection includes current spending cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency. [00:51] Oliver Grant: Even with those reductions, rising interest costs and mandatory programs like Medicare are driving the debt higher. [00:59] Oliver Grant: Federal debt is now expected to exceed 120% of the gross domestic product by 2036. [01:06] Oliver Grant: These levels have not been seen in the United States since World War II. [01:12] Oliver Grant: The CBO notes that these figures assume the 2017 tax cuts remain in place indefinitely. [01:18] Oliver Grant: It highlights a widening gap between the administration's stated savings and the actual fiscal trajectory. [01:26] Oliver Grant: Legislators will likely focus on the mandatory spending growth mentioned in the report. [01:31] Oliver Grant: Social security and interest payments remain the largest hurdles to balancing the national budget. [01:37] Oliver Grant: Four Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit yesterday against the administration. [01:42] Oliver Grant: They are challenging the termination of $600 million in public health grants. [01:48] Oliver Grant: California, Illinois, Colorado, and Minnesota filed the complaint in federal court in Chicago. [01:55] Oliver Grant: They argue the cuts will devastate disease surveillance and HIV prevention programs. [02:01] Oliver Grant: The Department of Health and Human Services stated the programs were inconsistent with agency priorities. [02:07] Oliver Grant: However, the lawsuit claims the funding was pulled with little notice or explanation. [02:13] Oliver Grant: Health officials are particularly concerned about programs serving LGBTQ plus communities and communities of color. [02:21] Oliver Grant: They warn that cutting HIV funding now could set back decades of public health progress. [02:27] Oliver Grant: This looks like a case where political alignment overrides established health metrics. [02:33] Oliver Grant: The sudden loss of surveillance data could create blind spots in our national defense against outbreaks. [02:39] Oliver Grant: In other news, Taylor Swift has asked the federal government to block a betting company from [02:44] Oliver Grant: trademarking the phrase Swift Home. [02:47] Oliver Grant: Her legal team filed the appeal on Wednesday. [02:50] Oliver Grant: The filing claims the company, Cafe Home, styled the word Swift to resemble her trademarked [02:57] Oliver Grant: cursive signature. [02:59] Oliver Grant: They argue this creates a false association with the singer. [03:02] Oliver Grant: I'm Oliver Grant. [03:04] Oliver Grant: And I'm Peter Rowan. [03:05] Oliver Grant: Neural Newscast is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. [03:10] Oliver Grant: View our AI transparency policy at neuralnewscast.com.