July Deficit: $94.59 Billion

Natalie Webb, BankruptingAmerica: As we move into the middle of Congressional recess, things are pretty much the same in Washington. The United States posted a nearly $95 billion deficit for the month of July, showing Washington is still spending beyond its means. In addition, yearly spending bills for agencies are showing that lawmakers are continuing to pad budgets with pet projects that are costing taxpayers billions of dollars per year. To make matters worse, the president is continuing to tour around the country, telling individuals the economy is back on track. Here’s what else happened recently:

U.S Government Posted A $460.5 Billion Deficit So Far, This Year. On Tuesday, the Treasury Department released its monthly budget statement, which showed a $94.59 billion deficit in July. While economists originally predicted a deficit of $96 billion, the actual number represents a three percent decrease from the same month last year. In addition, for the first ten months of the year, the federal government spent $2.93 trillion. This number is up one percent compared to $2.89 trillion spent over the first ten months of FY 2013.

Taxpayer Protection Alliance Identified $20 Billion Worth Of Earmarks In The 2015 House And Senate Defense Appropriations Bills. On July 31, the Taxpayer Protection Alliance (TPA) released a report detailing billions of dollars worth of lawmakers’ pet projects found in the 2015 House and Senate defense appropriations bills. In total, the group identified more than 240 earmarks worth almost $20 billion. These projects included allocations for cancer research and a Fourth of July fireworks display.

President Obama Spoke In Kansas On A Recovering U.S. Economy. In his speech in Kansas on July 30, President Obama insisted the U.S. had truly recovered. The president stated, “The crisis that hit near the end of my campaign, back in 2008, it would end up costing millions of Americans their jobs, their homes, their sense of security. But we have fought back. We have gotten back on our feet, dusted ourselves off. Today our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs in the past 52 months.” What he failed to mention was that healthcare costs are still on the rise, government regulations are still hampering small business growth and the tax code is still unnecessarily challenging.

Mercatus Center Released A New Chart Analyzing The 2014 Social Security And Medicare Trustees’ Reports. Their description of the chart: “This chart updates a previous Mercatus Center chart comparing the projected enrollment and costs for Medicare programs in 1975, 2013, and 2040. The number of Medicare enrollees more than doubled to 51.9 million between 1974 and 2014 and the real cost per enrollee quintupled. Based on these projections, by 2040 Medicare will cover about 89.2 million people, at roughly three times today’s cost per beneficiary. By 2040, it will cost a projected $31,900 (in real 2014 dollars) to cover each enrollee.”

Concerned Veterans For America (CVA) Released An Op-Ed On The Passing Of The VA Reform Bill. While some critics said the bill provided reward funding for the Veterans Affairs Department’s mistakes, CVA’s CEO Pete Hegseth noted the bill was an important first step to providing accountability at the VA. He wrote, “The reform package should not be seen as a one-time “silver bullet” cure for VA’s ills. It’s the first shot fired in what could—and should—be a forthcoming revolution in veterans’ care. Among the most important reforms in the new law are enhanced accountability provisions, giving the VA secretary the power to immediately remove poorly performing, negligent, or corrupt senior managers. This is one of the most important reforms to the antiquated federal civil service system since the 1980s.”

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