Treasury Department Releases January Federal Budget

The Department of the Treasury's Financial Management Service has released numbers for January that showed the government ran a $3 billion surplus in the first month of 2013. Still, for the 2013 fiscal year, which technically began in October, the government is running a $290 billion deficit, after outlays exceeded receipts by $120 billion in October, $172 billion in November, and $1 billion in December. While a $290 billion deficit in a five-month period doesn't sound like much to brag about, it's still an improvement from last year, when the deficit was sitting at nearly $350 billion during the same period.�

Standing out as areas of major government outlays were the Department of Defense, which has spent more than $217 billion thus far in the fiscal year, and the Department of Health and Human Services, which has spent $294 billion in the 2013 fiscal year. Together, the two departments combined for more than $511 billion of the country's $1.18 trillion in outlays during the period. In tonight's State of the Union address,�President Obama is rumored to announce�the withdrawal of thousands of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which could be taken as a sign of his intent to curb military spending.�