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Article: Major entitlements take bigger share of federal spending.(Main)
- Article from:
- Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)
- Article date:
- December 27, 2005
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Byline: STEPHEN OHLEMACHER Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Three growing entitlement programs consumed nearly half of all federal spending in 2004, and budget analysts expect them to make up an even bigger share in the future.
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for more than $1 trillion in the 2004 budget year, according to the Consolidated Federal Funds Report released today by the Census Bureau. Overall federal spending was $2.2 trillion, an increase of 5 percent from 2003.
"The total federal spending increase is actually down a bit from recent years," said Gerard Keffer, chief of the Census Bureau's federal programs branch. "It had been running 6 to ...