Exclusive | Why federal agency spending has outpaced inflation despite headcounts dropping

Federal agencies and departments are spending more of your money than ever — far above the rate of inflation over the past quarter-century, despite headcount dwindling by as much as 26.7% from max staffing levels, a new study shared with The Post has found.The study by non-profit Open The Books comes as part of a broader effort to map out the federal bureaucracy amid the Department of Government Efficiency’s crusade to root out waste and bloat.“At the major agencies, we’re finding a troubling pattern,” Open The Books CEO John Hart told The Post.“While the bureaucratic ranks have remained relatively steady, spending has soared in recent decades.“This begs the question: Where is all this taxpayer money going?”One explanation is the rise in federal aid transfers to states and other government subsidies that don’t require significant manpower to carry out, according to Chris Edwards, Kilts Family Chair in Fiscal Studies at the Cato Institute.“Back in the 1960s, [the government] mainly did stuff in-house,” Edwards said.

“These days … you get all this explosive growth in these benefit and subsidy programs, and that seems to be what they’re reflecting in their data.”“The head count might be smaller, but all that means is you have a slightly slimmer bureaucracy that’s administering much, much, much, much larger programs,” said Hayden Dublois, data and analytics director at the Foundation for Government Accountability.Since 2001, the US has experienced cumulative inflation of around 80%, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.Open the Books found that spending growth at key agencies far surpassed that level.Here are a few notable findings from the study:Two decades ago, the Environmental Protection Agency had roughly 18,596 employees on staff.

By 2024, that number had dropped to 16,450.During the same timeframe, EPA spending jumped from $7.2 billion in 2000 to more than $41.1 billion in 2024, a 469.5% increase.Edwards d...