Prudent Planning or Wasteful Binge? Another Look at End of the Year Spending. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management of the Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee

Abstract

Today we are looking at a phenomenon known as "use it or lose it" : the practice of going on a spending binge at the end of the year before funds expire and go back to the Treasury. There is no question this happens, but some argue it is solely caused by continuing resolutions (CR) and that the purchases really are not bad, just delayed. I do not like continuing resolutions and have never really voted for one, and I agree they play a part in the end-of-the-year spending, but the data does not support that this is good spending that is just simply delayed to the end of the year.