CBO: Federal Deficit Increased $1.1 Trillion in Past 6 Months

A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has the federal deficit chugging higher at $1.1 trillion in just the first six months of fiscal year 2023, which began last October.

The revelation continues to debunk the erroneous Biden administration claim the President Joe Biden is reducing the deficit. The oft-repeated claim was based on data that Biden’s administration merely slowed the increase of the national debt after massive COVID-19 pandemic spending packages in prior years.

The $1.1 trillion in the first half of 2023 is $430 billion more than the 2022 increase over the same period, bring the national debt to around $32.5 trillion.

Biden spending increased 13% ($357 billion) with $3.1 trillion spent in six months, while revenues fell 3% to $2 trillion. That latter figure is $73 billion less than the first half of 2022, according to the report.

Income and payroll tax revenues were down 2% ($33 billion) and Federal Reserve remittances fell from $61 billion to less than $1 billion.

All this while inflation has been raging at 40-year highs and interest rates continue to rise.

“Higher short-term interest rates raised the central bank’s interest expenses above its income, eliminating the profits of most Federal Reserve banks,” according to the CBO.

Notably, there was an estimated 11% ($132 billion) increase on the three largest entitlements Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

“Spending for Social Security benefits rose by $61 billion (or 10%) because of increases both in the number of beneficiaries and in the average benefit payment, which rose primarily because of cost-of-living adjustments,” the CBO reported.

“Medicare outlays increased by $49 billion (or 14%) because of changes in payment rates and in the types and quantity of care beneficiaries received.

“Medicaid outlays increased by $22 billion (or 8%) as a result of enrollment increases that were mainly attributable to provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act requiring states to maintain the eligibility of all enrollees until the end of the coronavirus public health emergency.”

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