The federal government’s end-of-year spending spree
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In the final month of the fiscal year, federal agencies scramble to spend what’s left in their annual budget.
Agencies fear that leaving excess funds might prompt Congress to appropriate less money the next year.
To avoid this, agencies spend like crazy every September. We call it the “use-it-or-lose-it” phenomenon, and it’s all on the taxpayer dime.
Our latest oversight report, which broke this morning on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, quantified the $97 billion federal agencies spent in the final month of fiscal year 2018. That’s a 39-percent increase from fiscal year 2015.
These last-minute transactions purchased a range of services and products including fidget spinners, guns and ammunition, alcohol and lobster tail, CrossFit equipment, musical instruments, and more.
For the next six days, we are making this report available to you for free. Download your free copy of our breaking report today.
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