White House, Deficit | featured news

President Barack Obama will announce a two-year pay freeze for federal employees Monday, a move White House officials say is the first of many difficult decisions that must be made to reduce the nation's mounting deficit.

The new estimates paint a grim unemployment picture as the economy experiences a relatively jobless recovery.

Congressional Budget Office predicts long-term deficits vastly exceeding White House estimates.

The White House and Congressional leaders are weighing options for reducing the federal deficit, including a bipartisan commission that could force tax increases and spending cuts.

The deficit is the largest relative to the size of the economy since 1945, underscoring the challenge to shrink the fiscal gap even as the White House considers more steps to stimulate a slow recovery.