Federal Government Policy and Business

Federal Government to Conclude Fiscal 2020 With Record Spending

NextGov: The federal government’s fiscal 2020 year ends today at midnight and federal spending has eclipsed $6 trillion for the first time ever—and that’s without data from September, the final month federal officials can obligate annual Congressionally-appropriated funds before they expire.

According to data from the Treasury Department, total government spending in fiscal 2020 reached $6.1 trillion by Aug. 31. The 2020 budget deficit now stands at $3 trillion through August—also a first, meaning the government has spent $3 trillion more than it has taken in this year—following 11 consecutive months of deficit spending compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. The current budget deficit is nearly twice as large as the previous highest deficit run in fiscal 2009 amid a national recession.

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