During the month of February--as President Barack Obama was warning Americans they would see dramatic effects in their lives if “sequestration” of some planned federal spending kicked in--the federal government’s debt climbed by $253.5 billion.
That one-month increase in the debt was nearly six times as much as the $44 billion in spending cuts the Congressional Budget Office estimates will take place in all of fiscal 2013 as a result of sequestration.
At the close of business on Jan. 31, 2013, the federal debt was $16,433,791,850,294.04, according to the U.S. Treasury. At the close of business on Feb. 28, 2013, the federal debt was $16,687,289,180,215.37. Thus, the federal debt increased $253,497,329,921.33 during the month.
In its Budget and Economic Outlook for Fiscal Years 2013-2023, published in February, the CBO explained that only $44 billion in planned federal spending will be cut during this fiscal year as a result of sequestration.
The CBO also says additional cuts that will be “attributable” to fiscal 2013 will actually take place “in later years”—not in fiscal 2013.
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