The CBO estimate released Wednesday also sees the US economy shrinking by 2.2 per cent this year and recovering only slightly in 2010, and the unemployment rate eclipsing nine per cent early next year unless the Obama administration steps in.

"The recession - which began about a year ago - will last well into 2009," the CBO report says.

The dismal figures come a day after President-elect Barack Obama warned of "trillion-dollar deficits for years to come."

Huge economic stimulus bill

CBO's figures don't account for the huge economic stimulus bill Obama is expected to propose soon to try to jolt the economy.

At the same time, they do not reflect the immediate cost of the Wall Street bailout.

The shrinking economy has led to a sharp drop in estimated tax revenues of US$166 billion, which is largely responsible for the deficit, along with big outlays from the Wall Street bailout.

The agency expects the US$700 billion bailout to actually cost taxpayers US$189 billion, with the costs reflected in its estimates for this year and next.

CBO estimates take into account the net value of the assets the government holds from financial institutions.

Under Treasury Department accounting, the bailout is reflected on a cash basis with disbursements reflected as the government makes them; as of mid-December, those disbursements totalled US$238 billion. Exposure to the taxpayer stemming from the US Federal Reserve Board's extensive interventions in the financial markets _ such as acquiring 80 percent control of insurance and financial giant American International Group Inc. _ are not reflected in the estimates.

Obama and Congress are promising quick enactment of the economic recovery plan, which will blend up to US$300 billion in tax cuts with big new spending programs and could cost up to US$775 billion over the next few years.

The flood of red ink probably won't affect that measure but could crimp other items on Obama's agenda.

"Despite the record deficits facing us, our number one task is an economic recovery package," said House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt Jr.

"With Americans concerned about their jobs, their homes, their retirement and their children's future, our economic situation is so severe that stabilising the economy must take precedence over short-term deficits."

The US$1.19 trillion 2009 figure shatters the previous record of US$455 billion, set only last year. It also represents more than eight per cent of the size of the economy, which is higher than the deficits of the 1980s. The 2009 budget year began last October 1.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called the budget figures "a stunning and sobering reminder that Congress must strengthen its efforts to be good stewards of the taxpayers' money."

CBO predicts the deficit will come under relative control within a few years, dropping to the $250 billion range within five years. But such predictions depend on the expiration of President George W. Bush's tax cuts at the end of next year; Obama has promised to renew most of them except for those aimed at people making more than $250,000 a year.

Fully renewing the Bush tax cuts, as well as indexing the alternative minimum tax for inflation, would add $380 billion to a deficit otherwise projected at $327 billion for 2012, CBO says.

At the same time, Democrats are expected to increase domestic agency budgets as they complete the leftover 2009 spending bills, and Obama is likely to recommend further increases in next month's budget submission.

While expected, the deficit numbers will give lawmakers second thoughts about creating new spending programs without finding ways to pay for them. And it is likely to prompt a debate about whether tax increases are necessary after the economy recovers from the current recession.

On Wednesday, Obama said, "Unless we take decisive action, even after our economy pulls out of its slide, trillion dollar deficits will be a reality for years to come."

"I'm going to be willing to make some very difficult choices in how we get a handle on this deficit," Obama said Tuesday.

Economists warn that large and sustained budget deficits put upward pressure on interest rates. In the short term, however, efforts to restrain the deficit could have a contracting effect on the economy.

"As we address our economy, it is vital that we simultaneously take steps to put our budget back on a sound long-term fiscal path," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad.

AP