(Photo by Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)
(CNSNews.com) – Federal spending has topped $6 trillion for the first time in any fiscal year in the nation’s history and the federal deficit has topped $3 trillion for the first time, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement for August that was released today.
There is still another month left in fiscal 2020, which runs through the end of September.
As of the end of August according to the Treasury, the federal government had spent a record $6,054,175,000,000. At the same time, total federal revenues were $3,046,786,000,000—leaving the federal government with a record deficit of $3,007,390,000.
Prior to this year, the most the federal government ever spent was the $4,209,743,000,000 it spent (in constant August 2020 dollars) in fiscal 2019.
The largest deficit the federal government had ever run before this year was the $1,659,890,630,000 deficit (in constant August 2020 dollars) it ran in fiscal 2009, during the last recession.
The most expensive federal department so far this year has been the Department of Health and Human Services, which spent $1,378,786,000,000 through August.
The second most expensive has been the Social Security Administration, which spent $1,056,912,000,000 through August.
Through August, the Department of Defense had spent $627,497,000,000.
The Treasury also spent $483,892,000,000 through Augsut in gross interest on Treasury debt securities.
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