August 1, 2011 4:59PM # Debt Deal: Spending in Perspective By [Tad DeHaven](https://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven) --- SHARE The following chart looks at total projected federal spending according to the Congressional Budget Office’s [adjusted March baseline and its score of the debt deal](http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12357). The chart only considers the reduction in outlays resulting from the deal’s cap on discretionary spending, which the CBO says will save $917 billion over the next ten years. It does not consider the $1.2-$1.5 trillion in future “deficit reduction” that Dan Mitchell discusses [here](https://www.cato.org/deconstructing-the-revenue-side-of-the-debt-ceiling-deal-yes-theres-a-real-threat-of-higher-taxes/). ![Total spending under debt deal](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/total-spending-under-debt-deal1.jpg?itok=SURrMMbT) Excluding outlays for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are unlikely to materialize, total spending over the next ten years would be about $43 trillion under the discretionary spending caps instead of $44 trillion. In other words, even if Congress holds to the caps — and even if the “deficit reduction” targets established in the bill are achieved — the federal government’s spending binge will continue. If this is a “win” for the limited government crowd, I’d hate to see what the Beltway establishment would consider a “loss.” ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).