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Federal Spending Over First Five Months of 2019 Highest in Ten Years; Number Expected to Rise 

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Federal spending over the first five months of fiscal 2019 is the highest it's been in 10 years, with government spending at $1.8 trillion. 

The last time government spending was this high was in 2009 when it hit $1.9 trillion. It included a $700 billion bank bailout signed by President George W. Bush and a $787 billion stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama.

President Donald Trump recently proposed a record $4.7 trillion budget, increasing the federal deficit past $1 trillion. The budget, the largest in federal history, includes a $750 billion increase in military spending. It also includes the building of the new military branch Space Force and an additional $8.6 billion for construction of a wall along the border with Mexico according to The Associated Press.

The budget will also hire more than 2,800 additional law enforcement officers, including Border Patrol agents. 

The administration is counting on growth and cuts to certain programs to bring balance to the budget in 15 years. Non-defense accounts are being cut by 5 percent, including a $2 trillion decrease in health care spending. The White House has announced a total of $1.9 trillion in cost savings from programs like Medicaid and Medicare while collecting $100 million in new fees from the electronic cigarette industry to combat the opioid crisis. 

While President Trump calls his plan a step to "an economic miracle.", House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has criticized the plan as  "cruel and shortsighted ... a roadmap to a sicker, weaker America."

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