WASHINGTON (AP) – Moves by Congress to pump money into the economy and by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates will generate a slightly stronger economy this year, Capitol Hill economists predicted Friday.

The economy will experience real growth in gross domestic product of 1.9 percent this year, the Congressional Budget Office predicted, a 0.2 percentage point increase over estimates produced by the agency in early December and released last month.

The effect of the fiscal and monetary policy moves more than make up for a softening in the economy since CBO economists finalized their prior forecast of 1.7 percent growth. The agency did not say how much of the anticipated increase in GDP was due to the recently passed economic stimulus bill.

“The impact of monetary and fiscal policy stimulus slightly outweighs the deterioration in economic conditions,” CBO Director Peter Orszag wrote in a letter to Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D.

CBO produces nonpartisan budget and economic estimates for Congress.

The agency’s updated estimate predicted a 2.3 percent GDP growth rate in 2009.

“Although CBO’s projections do not show the slowdown in economic growth becoming severe enough to meet the economic definition of recession, the risk of a recession remains elevated,” Orszag wrote. “Economic activity will remain subdued for some period as the economy continues to work through the effects of problems in the housing and financial markets and the high price of oil.”

AP-ES-02-15-08 1524EST