A Closer Look at Discretionary Spending

REVENUES, $2.3T the SPENDING, $3.6T U.S. Mandatory $2.0T Discretionary Net Interest $1.3T FEDERAL $0.2T BUDGET A Closer Look at Discretionary Spending Spending that lawmakers control through annual appropriation acts Discretionary Spending at a Glance 9.0 Percent 9.0 Percent $1.3 Trillion $699 Billion Discretionary spending Discretionary spending Discretionary spending by the federal government in 2011 Spending in 2011 on defense, the largest component of discretionary spending as a share of GDP in 2011 as a share of GDP in 1991 Excluding outlays stemming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, discretionary spending would have been 8.5% of GDP in 2011. TRENDS in Discretionary Spending Percentage of gross domestic product 5.4 Defense Nondefense 4.7 4.3 4 ----- 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.0 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 BREAKDOWN of Discretionary sSpending in 2011 Billions of dollars Defense $699B Other $50 Includes spending on military construction, family housing, | and some defense-related activities by government entities Operation and Maintenance $290 Military Personnel $157 Procurement $128 Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation $75 other than the Department of Defense, such as the atomic energy activities of the Department of Energy. Nondefense $647B Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services $116 Transportation $91 Income Health $63 International Other $147 Security $71 Affairs $48 Veterans' Benefits Administration Includes funding for natural resources and environment; and Services $57 of Justice $54 general science, space, and technology; general government; community and regional development; agriculture; Medicare and Social Security (for administrative activities); energy; and commerce and housing credit. 200 400 600 800 1,000 All data are for federal fiscal years, which run from October 1 to September 30. Prepared by: Jonathan Schwabish and Courtney Griffith Contact: Projections Unit, Budget Analysis Division Source: Congressional Budget Office, April 2012 For more details, see CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook, January 2012: http://go.usa.gov/nPi and CBO's Updated Budget Projections, March 2012: http://go.usa.gov/mgN Numbers may not add up to totals because of rounding. Net Interest not included.