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The United States federal budget consists of mandatory expenditures (which includes Medicare and Social Security), discretionary spending for defense, Cabinet departments (e.g., Justice Department) and agencies (e.g., Securities & Exchange Commission), and interest payments on debt.
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 ]
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]
What is discretionary spending vs. mandatory spending? Mandatory spending, also called non-discretional spending, is just that – spending that is mandatory. Items in this category might include ...
Much of the money supports mandatory programs, which must be funded in accordance with existing laws. ... Less than one-third of the federal budget in fiscal year 2024 consisted of discretionary ...
Discretionary spending is optional spending that is determined by Congress each year through an annual appropriations process. [8] After mandatory spending levels have been estimated by the Office of Management and Budget , discretionary spending is determined by both chambers of Congress and usually includes input from the incumbent president ...
Non-defense discretionary spending is used to fund the executive departments (e.g., the Department of Education) and independent agencies (e.g., the Environmental Protection Agency), although these do receive a smaller amount of mandatory funding as well. Discretionary budget authority is established annually by Congress, as opposed to ...
Discretionary Spending. Middle-class households can afford to enjoy entertainment, dining out, vacations and hobbies. “For poor households, these activities are often luxuries they cannot afford ...