{"id":41061,"date":"2018-10-19T20:21:35","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T20:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/19\/seeing-red-us-deficit-jumps-779-billion-adding-budget-pressure\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:21:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:21:00","slug":"seeing-red-us-deficit-jumps-779-billion-adding-budget-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/10\/19\/seeing-red-us-deficit-jumps-779-billion-adding-budget-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing red: US deficit jumps to $779 billion, adding budget pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. federal government is sliding deeper into the red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country\u2019s deficit<\/a> rose to $779 billion in fiscal 2018, its highest level in six years as Republican-led tax cuts caused the government to borrow more heavily. That represents a jump of 17 percent over last year, the largest figure since 2012, when the U.S. was spending to stimulate its economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The higher deficit spending is expected to add downward pressure on future defense budgets<\/a>. On Oct. 16, U.S. President Donald Trump called for government spending to be cut 5 percent across every federal department, and while his prescription for future defense spending was confused, he seemed to suggest a cut from $717 billion in FY19 to $700 billion in FY20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Treasury announced<\/a> Oct. 15 the deficit rose $113 billion over the previous year as government spending outpaced revenues. Receipts were generally flat in FY18, while spending increased 3.2 percent as Congress gave more funds for military and domestic programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Trump prioritized making a significant investment in America\u2019s military after years of reductions in military spending undermined our preparedness and national security,\u201d Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Defense Department\u2019s portion of outlays totaled $600.7 billion, which was $8.1 billion or 1.4 percent higher than estimated. The difference was attributed to higher-than-expected disbursements for aircraft and other Air Force procurement contracts ($5 billion), outlays for Army military personnel ($2.5 billion), disbursements for revolving and management funds ($1.5 billion), and disbursements for research, development, test and evaluation contracts ($1.2 billion).<\/p>\n\n\n\t