Budget ‘Cut’ Deal Upped Spending

So much for fiscal discipline. The deal that Congress reached in April for the 2011 budget was said to cut $38 billion from 2010 spending. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said at the time that the number was an exaggeration: the real cut would be closer to $352 million. But a revised CBO analysis tells an even more dramatic story: in fact, spending will jump $3.2 billion. The discrepancy is due to an increase in defense spending. A spokesman for Speaker John Boehner said the study was “an uneven snapshot,” but it’s sure to encourage conservatives who were already angry at congressional Republicans for giving too much away in the deal.