Federal spending increased last month at the US Treasury issued an additional round of stimulus checks and other federal aid following a December fiscal relief deal in congress, extending the budget deficit for the fiscal year.The US budget gap totaled a record $736 billion during the initial four months of fiscal 2021, an 89% gain when compared with the same period a year before, as government spending outperformed revenue. Receipts totaled almost $1.2 trillion, a 1% increase and a record from October through January, while outlays increased a record 23%, to $1.9 trillion, largely due to higher spending on secure-net programs such as unemployment benefits and Medicaid. For the 12 months that ended in January, the shortfall totaled $3.47 trillion, or 16.2% as a share of economic output. A surge of spending to combat the coronavirus pandemic and cushion the US economy from the related downturn, coupled with weaker tax revenues, has sent downfalls surging over the past year to levels not seen since the end of World War II. Rising red ink is now at the center of a debate in Congress over whether lawmakers should approve more spending to bolster the economy, and help households and businesses until the pandemic is brought under control.