WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A mid-year White House report will tout fiscal progress with a projected U.S. budget deficit for this year of around $420 billion -- nearly $100 billion less than the forecast offered five months ago, congressional sources said on Tuesday.A congressional aide who declined to be identified told Reuters that the $420 billion figure is "what people are talking about" on Capitol Hill.
The budget projection will be part of a mid-session budget report that the White House will be putting out, possibly as early as this week. Originally due on July 15, the document was delayed after officials in the Office of Management and Budget sought extra time to update their figures in light of improving economic conditions that have fueled higher tax revenues.
Bush has been criticized by Democrats for plunging the nation into record deficits after he inherited a surplus.
The president's fiscal 2005 budget blueprint in February forecast a record $521 billion shortfall.
(Reporting by Anna Willard and Caren Bohan)
