CBO Estimates Spending Up $144 Billion in 2025

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its Monthly Budget Review for June 2025, estimating that federal spending, as measured by outlays, is $144 billion higher in the first half of calendar year 2025 than 2024.

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

For the first half of the calendar year, we have seen a year-over-year rise of $144 billion in government spending despite all the talk of bringing spending down.  

If lawmakers want to cut taxes, they need to control spending, and given our debt levels, they should reduce it by more than they cut taxes. These numbers cause one to wonder if DOGE was merely a distraction rather than an effective focus on cutting this year’s deficit.  

Bottom line—high levels of debt combined with tax cuts and growing spending is a recipe for fiscal disaster, and we should change course immediately.  

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For more information, please contact Matt Klucher, Assistant Director for Media Relations, at klucher@crfb.org.