Washington, Jumada I 18, 1436, Mar 9, 2015, SPA -- The U.S. Congressional Budget Office is projecting a $486 billion budget deficit for this year, nearly matching the lowest shortfall of President Barack Obama's term in office. The deficit projection is slightly larger than one made by the agency in January. In a report issued Monday, the budget office said the change was mainly because of increased spending on student loans, Medicare and Medicaid. The annual deficit topped $1 trillion in each of Obama's first four years in office, including a record $1.4 trillion in 2009, AP reported. The deficit dipped to $485 billion in the budget year that ended last September. Congress' Republican-run budget committees will soon start drawing up their own spending blueprints for fiscal 2016, which starts on Oct. 1. -- SPA 19:51 LOCAL TIME 16:51 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w