The 7 Agencies Where Contract Spending Sped Up Despite the Sequester

Overall, the federal government’s spending on contracts was down 11 percent last year, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The sequester, other budget cuts, and the drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan took a toll on spending at 12 of 19 major agencies, with Defense Department spending down nearly 15 percent  over fiscal 2012 and business with the U.S. Agency for International Development down 17 percent.

But seven departments managed to buck the general downward trend. They are:

1)      Homeland Security (2.1 percent increase over fiscal 2012)

2)      Health and Human Services (4.6 percent increase)

3)      Veterans Affairs (5.3 percent increase)

4)      Justice (7 percent increase)

5)      Housing and Urban Development (9.5 percent increase)

6)      Treasury (16.4 percent increase)

7)      Education (27 percent increase)