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The United States federal budget is divided into three categories: mandatory spending, discretionary spending, and interest on debt. Also known as entitlement spending, in US fiscal policy, mandatory spending is government spending on certain programs that are required by law. [1] Congress established mandatory programs under authorization laws.
In American public finance, discretionary spending is government spending implemented through an appropriations bill. [1] This spending is an optional part of fiscal policy , in contrast to social programs for which funding is mandatory and determined by the number of eligible recipients. [ 2 ]
Discretionary spending requires an annual appropriation bill, which is a piece of legislation. Discretionary spending is typically set by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and their various subcommittees. Since the spending is typically for a fixed period (usually a year), it is said to be under the discretion of the Congress.
Discretionary spending is non-essential spending that isn't mandatory for your basic needs like shelter, food, healthcare, work and personal care. Many expenses are essential, but discretionary...
The fiscal year is the accounting period of the federal government, which runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year. [3] Appropriations bills are under the jurisdiction of the United States House Committee on Appropriations and the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations . [ 2 ]
Figure B provides a snapshot of the major discretionary government spending categories as of the fiscal year 2019 budget approved by Congress. As the figure suggests, over 50% of discretionary spending is attributed to national defense. The remaining 48% of funds is divided among non-defense items such as transportation and education.
The federal budget is divided into two main categories: discretionary spending and mandatory spending. Each appropriations subcommittee develops a draft appropriations bill covering each agency under its jurisdiction based on the Congressional Budget Resolution , which is drafted by an analogous Senate Budget committee .
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