$10 Trillion Withdrawn From U.S. Treasury This Fiscal Year Alone, Treasury Says

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CNSNews:

(CNSNews.com) - Although the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the federal government will spend $3.563 trillion in fiscal year 2012 and the White House Office of Management estimates it will be $3.795 trillion, actual withdrawals from the U.S. Treasury have already exceeded $10 trillion.

In fact, as of the close of business Wednesday, withdrawals from the Treasury equaled $10,201,615,000,000 for fiscal 2012, which began on Oct. 1, 2011 and will end on Sept. 30.

According to the Daily Treasury Statement--the official daily accounting sheet for the federal government—withdrawals from the Treasury exceeded $10 trillion this year on Aug. 30, when they rose from $9.903 trillion to $10.035 trillion.

How can this be?

The answer: The federal government needs to churn through trillions of dollars each year above the level of current annual federal spending in order to maintain its $16 trillion debt—much of which is held in Treasury notes that mature in anywhere from 2 to 10 years and Treasury bills that mature in anywhere from a few days to less than a year.

The federal government has an interest—literally—in maintaining much of the debt in these short- and mid-term securities because it pays a lower interest rate on them than it does on Treasury bonds, which mature in 30 years.