CBO: Budget Deal Raised Spending $3.2 Billion

When Congress and the White House came to an agreement on the 2011 budget last month to avoid a government shutdown, the deal was advertised as cutting spending by $38.5 billion. In fact, it raises government spending by $3.2 billion for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Monday, The Hill reports.

The new figure stems from an increase in defense spending of $7.5 billion that results from a speed-up in some of the Pentagon’s funding. Non-military spending will drop by $4.4 billion.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner argues on Boehner’s website that the CBO’s accounting doesn’t include a full range of data and therefore provides “an uneven snapshot” of the budget accord.