With budget deficits climbing rapidly, the Bush administration acknowledged today that the government had reached its legal limit on borrowing and would run short of cash by early April unless Congress once again raised the debt ceiling.

Because Congress inevitably does raise the ceiling after intense jousting, the announcement will have little, if any, effect on operations. But it highlights the new era of red ink that the government faces even before President Bush's latest proposals for more than $1 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years.

Two years ago, administration forecasters predicted large budget surpluses. But the economic slowdown and the faltering stock market sent tax revenues plunging, even as government spending continued to increase.

The White House now projects a deficit of more than $300 billion this year and next, as well as deficits for at least the next decade.