What percentage of the federal budget is discretionary spending?

Discretionary spending—the part of federal spending that lawmakers control through annual appropriation acts—totaled about $1.2 trillion in 2013, CBO estimates, or about 35 percent of federal outlays. Just over half of that spending was for defense programs; the rest paid for an array of nondefense activities.

How much did the federal government spend in 2016?

2016 United States federal budget

Submitted February 2, 2015
Submitted to 114th Congress
Total revenue $3.525 trillion (requested) $3.268 trillion (actual) 17.8% of GDP
Total expenditures $3.999 trillion (requested) $3.853 trillion (actual) 20.9% of GDP
Deficit $474 billion (requested) $585 billion (actual) 3.2% of GDP

What was the federal government’s greatest mandatory expense in the 2016 budget?

In FY 2016, mandatory spending accounted for 64 percent of all federal spending. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid were the largest individual mandatory expenditures, together accounting for about 78 percent of all mandatory spending.

What percentage of the US budget is non discretionary?

The percentage of total spending devoted to nondefense discretionary programs also fell from 19 percent in 1969 to 15 percent in 2019, but this has fluctuated significantly over the period.

How much money was spent on discretionary programs during 2015 What programs?

Congress approved $1.1 trillion for the 2015 discretionary budget. Here’s the spending for the major departments: Department of Defense – $496.1 billion. Health and Human Services – $80.3 billion.

What is the largest category of federal discretionary spending?

The largest category of discretionary spending is defense spending, which accounts for about half of all the federal government’s discretionary spending. Other examples of discretionary spending are spending on education, scientific research, and law enforcement.

What was the US budget deficit in 2016?

$587 billion
In 2016, the budget deficit rose for the first time in a number of years, totaling $587 billion—about one-third more than the $438 billion shortfall recorded in 2015. As a percentage of GDP, the deficit increased from 2.4 percent in 2015 to 3.2 percent, the first such increase since 2009.

How much did the government spend in 2017?

$4.147 trillion
2017 United States federal budget

Submitted February 9, 2016
Submitted to 114th Congress
Total revenue $3.644 trillion (requested) $3.316 trillion (actual) 17.3% of GDP
Total expenditures $4.147 trillion (requested) $3.982 trillion (actual) 20.8% of GDP
Deficit $503 billion (requested) $665 billion (actual) 3.5% of GDP

What are the 5 largest federal expenses?

Major categories of FY 2017 spending included: Healthcare such as Medicare and Medicaid ($1,077B or 27% of spending), Social Security ($939B or 24%), non-defense discretionary spending used to run federal Departments and Agencies ($610B or 15%), Defense Department ($590B or 15%), and interest ($263B or 7%).

What is the largest part of federal discretionary spending?

Generally, a majority of the discretionary spending is budgeted towards national defense. The rest of discretionary spending is budgeted to other federal agency programs ranging from transportation, education, housing, social service programs, as well as science and environmental organizations.

What category did the federal government spend the most on in 2015?

Health and Human Services – $80.3 billion. Education – $66.9 billion. Veterans Affairs – $65.1 billion. Homeland Security – $39.9 billion.

What category did the federal government spend the most on?

As of the fiscal year 2019 budget approved by Congress, national defense is the largest discretionary expenditure in the federal budget.

What are the three largest categories of discretionary federal spending?

Discretionary Spending The rest must pay for all other domestic programs. The largest of these programs are Health and Human Services, Education, and Housing and Urban Development.

What percent of US discretionary spending is defense?

Defense spending accounts for more than 10 percent of all federal spending and nearly half of discretionary spending.

Did the United States have a federal deficit or surplus in 2015 how much?

At $439 billion, the 2015 deficit constituted the smallest since 2007, and at 2.5 percent of gross domestic product, it was below the average deficit (relative to the size of the economy) over the past 50 years.

What was the federal deficit in 2017?

$665 billion
The budget deficit was $665 billion in 2017. U.S. debt is considered one of the safest investments in the world and interest rates remain low, which is why the government has been able to borrow money at cheap rates to finance the large annual deficits. But the costs are adding up.

What was the deficit in 2016?

What was U.S. federal government spending FY 2017 2018?

The United States federal budget for fiscal year 2018, which ran from October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018, was named America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again….2018 United States federal budget.

Submitted March 16, 2017
Submitted to 115th Congress
Total revenue $3.654 trillion (estimated) $3.330 trillion (actual) 16.5% of GDP

What are the top 3 items that the federal government spends its money on?

Nearly 60 percent of mandatory spending in 2019 was for Social Security and other income support programs (figure 3). Most of the remainder paid for the two major government health programs, Medicare and Medicaid.

What are the three largest discretionary items in the federal budget?

Discretionary Spending The largest of these programs are Health and Human Services, Education, and Housing and Urban Development.

What was the fiscal year 2016 federal budget?

The fiscal year 2016 federal budget explains U.S. government revenue and spending from October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2016. Revenue of $3.268 trillion was less than $3.853 trillion in spending. That created a $585 billion budget deficit. The president submitted the Fiscal Year 2016 budget proposal to Congress on February 2, 2015.

How much did the US government spend in 2016?

The fiscal year 2016 federal budget explains U.S. government revenue and spending from October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2016. Revenue of $3.268 trillion was less than $3.853 trillion in spending.

How much did the government spend in 2013?

The government spent $3.853 trillion, slightly less than the president’s budget of $3.99 trillion. Mandatory spending came in lower than the president’s estimate. Congressional appropriations for discretionary spending programs were higher. Here’s the breakdown:

How much was the US deficit in 2016?

The federal deficit in 2016 was $587 billion, equal to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product.