It was the largest extravaganza of taxpayer abuse in U.S. government history. It just ended on September 30th – the feds fiscal year-end. Agencies worry that spending less than their budget permits might prompt Congress to appropriate less money in the next fiscal year. To avoid this, federal agencies embark on an annual spending spree to avoid the impression they can operate on less.  This 'use-it-or-lose-it' spending phenomenon happens every year.