The tide of red ink for the federal government slowed in the month of June as the Treasury Department reported Thursday that Uncle Sam ran a deficit of $8 billion last month, but that still left the total deficit after nine months of the current fiscal year at $747 billion, up 23 percent from the same point a year earlier.
Overall, revenues are up by $68 billion in 2019 or 2.7 percent. Government spending has gone up by almost $210 billion or 6.6 percent.
The official White House forecast is for a deficit in 2019 of nearly $1.1 trillion - up dramatically from $779 billion in 2018.
When it comes to the increased revenues in 2019, almost one-third of the $68 billion increase is from the collection of $22 billion more in tariffs than a year earlier.
The feds have also seen an increase of $8 billion in certain excise taxes, and almost $3 billion more in corporate income tax payments, while individual income tax payments are down by $4 billion when compared to 2018.
The release of the new deficit figures came as Republicans and Democrats were still trying to hash out a new budget deal for 2020, as there is still no agreement on how much money will be spent on programs outside of Social Security and Medicare.
Under a budget law from 2011, automatic budget cuts would kick in next year unless the Congress comes to an agreement to re-set the spending limits known as the 'budget caps.'
Republicans and the President want defense spending to grow from $716 billion this year to $750 billion in 2020; Democrats argue they should get an equal increase in domestic spending.
If the sequester kicks in, defense spending would face at least $71 billion in cuts, while domestic programs would be hit with at least $55 billions in automatic reductions.
The White House budget forecast is for at least four straight years of deficits over $1 trillion.
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