According to the Congressional Budget Office, the deficit decreased from $2.8 trillion in fiscal year 2021 to $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2022.
The CBO estimates that cutting stimulus programs, reducing unemployment benefits, discontinuing loans to small businesses, and ending assistance to local, state, tribal, and territorial governments led to a reduction in spending of more than $1 trillion. An additional $757 billion increase in individual income and payroll taxes was used to reduce the deficit. $378 billion was spent on student loan forgiveness by the Department of Education.
According to the CBO, the Small Business Administration's spending fell by $300 billion. The SBA reported $323 billion in expenditures for FY 2021, the majority of which came from loans and loan guarantees given to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program.The SBA reported $323 billion in expenditures for FY 2021, the majority of which came from loans and loan guarantees given to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program.
According to the research, the Treasury spent $138 billion less on coronavirus assistance for state, municipal, tribal, and territory governments.
According to the CBO, the remaining amount can be explained by modest increases and declines in spending at other federal agencies, including Medicare ($21 billion increase), the Department of the Treasury ($31 billion decline), and foreign aid, including Ukraine ($16 billion increase). Due to several bills having their due dates pushed back to September and the fact that October 1 happened on a weekend, spending increased by $62 billion in the fiscal year 2022, which ran from September 2021 to September 2022.
We are on track to reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion this year – and that's on top of a $350 billion deficit reduction last year. Don't let anyone tell you we can't afford to invest in America’s families.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 9, 2022
The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2022, the full anticipated cost of student loan debt reduction was recorded as having been expended. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the program will cost $570 billion over ten years, offsetting 16 to 21 years of deficit reduction from the Inflation Reduction Act.
According to The Washington Post, President Biden frequently claimed credit for reducing the federal deficit in September and August.
The President added, "Our Republican friends talk about, well, 'Big Spendin' Biden,'" according to Factbase, on September 12 at a Boston fundraiser. "Well, what do you know? I reduced your deficit by almost $1 trillion this year and by $350 billion the first year. It's easily within our means.
According to the CBO, student loan forgiveness contributed mostly to the deficit being $341 billion higher than anticipated. According to the Treasury Department, the deficit is tied with 2011 for third-largest in the past 20 years.
DCNF's request for comment from the White House did not immediately receive a response.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on WND.