How does the federal government spend its money? (2024)
Mandatory Spending
Mandatory spending covers outlays controlled by laws other than appropriations acts. Almost all such spending is for “entitlements,” for which expenditures depend on individual eligibility and participation; they are funded at whatever level needed to cover the resulting costs. Mandatory spending has grown from about 26 percent of the budget in 1962 to 66 percent in 2022 (figure 2). This growth is largely because of new entitlements, including Medicare and Medicaid (both of which started in 1965), the earned income tax credit (1975), and the child tax credit (1997). In addition, both increases in Social Security benefits during the 1960s and early 1970s and rapid growth of both the elderly and the disabled populations have contributed to increased Social Security and Medicare spending.
Nearly half of mandatory spending in 2022 was for Social Security and other income support programs such as the Child Tax Credit, food and nutrition assistance, and federal employee benefits (figure 3). Most of the remainder paid for the two major government health programs, Medicare and Medicaid.
Discretionary spending covers programs that require appropriations by Congress. Unlike mandatory spending, both the programs and the authorized levels of spending require regular renewal by Congress. The share of the budget going for discretionary spending has fallen from two-thirds in 1962 to 26 percent now.
About 45 percent of FY 2022 discretionary spending went towards national defense, and most of the rest went for domestic programs, including transportation, education and training, veterans’ benefits, income security, and health care (figure 4). About 4 percent of discretionary spending funded international activities, such as foreign aid.
Debt Service
Interest on the national debt has fluctuated over the past half century along with the size of the debt and interest rates. It climbed from 6.4 percent of total outlays in 1962 to over 15 percent in the mid-1990s, fell to 6 percent in 2015, but climbed back to 7.6 percent by 2022 (figure 2). Since 2016, historically low interest rates have held down interest payments despite the national debt reaching a peacetime high of 97 percent of GDP in 2022, in part due to the federal stimulus to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, interest payments as a share of outlays are projected to rise because of projected increases in both the national debt and interest rates.
Office of Management and Budget. 2023. Historical Tables. Table 8.1, “Outlays by Budget Enforcement Act Category: 1962–2028,” Table 8.5, “Outlays for Mandatory and Related Programs: 1962–2028,” and Table 8.7, “Outlays for Discretionary Programs: 1962–2028.”
Also known as entitlement spending, in US fiscal policy, mandatory spending is government spending on certain programs that are required by law. Congress established mandatory programs under authorization laws. Congress legislates spending for mandatory programs outside of the annual appropriations bill process.
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in 2022 was for Social Security and other income support programs such as the Child Tax Credit, food and nutrition assistance, and federal employee benefits (figure 3). Most of the remainder paid for the two major government health programs, Medicare and Medicaid.
The federal government funds a variety of programs and services that support the American public. The government also spends money on interest it has incurred on outstanding federal debt, including Treasury notes and bonds.
In 2023, major entitlement programs—Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, and other health care programs—consumed 50 percent of all federal spending. Soon, this spending will be larger than the portion of spending for all other priorities (such as national defense) combined. What Funds the Federal Budget?
CBO: U.S. Federal spending and revenue components for fiscal year 2023. Major expenditure categories are healthcare, Social Security, and defense; income and payroll taxes are the primary revenue sources.
Most state and local government spending falls into one of seven categories: elementary and secondary education, public welfare (which includes most Medicaid spending), higher education, health and hospitals, highways and roads, criminal justice (which includes spending on police, corrections, and courts), and housing ...
In 2023, federal spending is projected to total $6.1 trillion — almost one-fourth of the economy and $19,100 for each person living in the United States. That spending can be divided into three categories: mandatory, discretionary, and interest.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released his 2023 “Festivus” Report, totaling ~$900,000,000,000 in government waste.
The federal government borrows money from the public by issuing securities—bills, notes, and bonds—through the Treasury. Treasury securities are attractive to investors because they are: Backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Offered in a wide range of maturities.
As Figure A suggests, Social Security is the single largest mandatory spending item, taking up 38% or nearly $1,050 billion of the $2,736 billion total. The next largest expenditures are Medicare and Income Security, with the remaining amount going to Medicaid, Veterans Benefits, and other programs.
The rest includes investing in education; investing in basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and airports; maintaining natural resources, farms, and the environment; investing in scientific and medical research; enforcing the nation's laws to promote justice; and other basic duties of the federal government.
The Trump administration's budget proposal was released on March 11, 2019. On August 1, 2019, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (H.R. 3877) was passed by the House. The next day, on August 2, 2019, the bill was passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Trump.
In fiscal year 2023, the federal government is estimated to spend $6.3 trillion, amounting to 24.2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). Of that $6.3 trillion, over $4.8 trillion is estimated to be financed by federal revenues. The remaining amount will be financed by net borrowing.
China is one of the United States's largest creditors, owning about $859.4 billion in U.S. debt. 1 However, it does not own the most U.S. debt of any foreign country. Nations borrowing from each other may be as old as the concept of money.
Mandatory spending is simply all spending that does not take place through appropriations legislation. Mandatory spending includes entitlement programs, such as Social Security, Medicare, and required interest spending on the federal debt. Mandatory spending accounts for about two-thirds of all federal spending.
Federal Budget. What are the sources of revenue for the federal government? Over half of federal revenue comes from individual income taxes, 9 percent from corporate income taxes, and another 30 percent from payroll taxes that fund social insurance programs (figure 1). The rest comes from a mix of sources.
The majority of federal revenue comes from individual and corporate income taxes as well as social insurance taxes (such as the Social Security taxes described above).
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