BERLIN (MNI) - Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, Friday passed a budget bill for 2010 that sets federal net new borrowing at a record level of E80.2 billion, more than double last year's E34.1 billion.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, in a speech in parliament ahead of the vote, called the borrowing volume "worrisome." He reiterated the government's pledge to cut structural borrowing by E10 billion each year until 2016 in order to bring down the structural federal deficit to 0.35% of GDP by then, as is required by German law.

The marked rise of federal net new borrowing in 2010 is mainly due to lower tax revenue and higher unemployment-related spending caused by the sharp economic downturn.

On top of the E80.2 billion borrowing projected in the 2010 budget, the government projects a federal net new borrowing need of E14.5 billion for its special funds to support financial institutions and stabilize the economy. These funds are administered outside the regular budget. The government made the projection in December when the cabinet adopted the budget bill.

Otto Fricke, who is responsible for budget matters in the FDP parliamentary group, said earlier this week in parliament he hopes that total federal net new borrowing will stay below E100 billion this year. The FDP is the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal-conservative government coalition.

The 2010 budget bill projects federal spending of E319.5 billion. Federal tax revenue in 2010 is estimated at E211.9 billion. Other income is projected at E27.4 billion. This includes proceeds from highway tolls, distributed dividends and the Bundesbank's profit.

The budget bill still needs to be approved by the Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament, which represents the 16 states. The Bundesrat will vote on the bill on March 26. Merkel's CDU/CSU-FDP coalition government also wields a majority in the Bundesrat.

Due to the change of government last autumn, the adoption of the 2010 budget bill was delayed until this year.