budget cuts set funding path to historic lows

7/29/2019 Budget Cuts Set Funding Path to Historic Lows

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1 Center or American Progress | Budget Cuts Set Funding Path to Historic Lows

Budget Cuts Set Funding Path

to Historic LowsMichael Linden January 29, 2013

Because o legislaed budge cus enaced over he pas wo years, spending in a vial

bu poorly undersood caegory o he ederal budge is now on rack o decline by

he year 2017 o is lowes level on record.1 Tis caegory, known as non-deense

discreionary spending, is home o an array o programs, benes, invesmens, and

public proecionshe bulk o which enjoy enormous popular suppor and providecriical services o he naion.2

Wha is in his caegory o spending wih he inelegan and painully non-descrip ile

ha is now projeced o dwindle o unprecedened levels? I includes nearly all o he

ederal governmens invesmens in primary and secondary educaion, in ransporaion

inrasrucure, and in scienic, echnological, and healh care research and develop-

men. I also includes nearly all o he ederal governmens law enorcemen resources,

as well as essenially all ederal eors o keep our air, waer, ood, pharmaceuicals,

consumer producs, workplaces, highways, airpors, coass, and borders sae. I includes

veerans healh care services and some nuriional, housing, and child care assisanceo low-income amilies. I even includes he unding or such naional reasures as he

Smihsonian Insiuion, our naional parks sysem, and he Naional Aeronauics and

Space Adminisraion, beter known as NASA.

In he pas 50 years, ederal unding or his broad caegory o programs and ser-

vices has never allen below 3.2 percen o our naions gross domesic produc he

broades measure o economic aciviy.3 Now, however, because o he spending cus

ha have been signed ino law since he all o 2010, wihin 10 years, nondeense

discreionary unding will be abou 14 percen lower han is lowes poin in he pas

50 yearseven beore aking ino accoun he eecs o he large auomaic spending

cus scheduled o begin in March 2013.

Since he sar o scal year 2010, he ocial Congressional Budge Oce projec-

ion o nondeense discreionary spending has allen by more han $730 billion, a

cu o more han 10 percen.4 Tose cus are mainly he resul o legislaion passed in

he inervening monhs ha dramaically curailed ederal spending in his caegory.


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Furhermore, i he addiional auomaic cus known as he seques-

er remain in place he overall reducion will swell o well over $1

rillion, a 15 percen cu in oal.

Te very diversiy and breadh o he services and programs ha

live under he banner o nondeense discreionary is wha makes he

caegory such a avorie arge or budge cus. Te public is ar morelikely o accep massive cus o a nameless collecion o nebulous pro-

grams han i is o a lis o specic programs ha hey know and like.

Bu he eecs will be he same noneheless. We canno cu hese ser-

vices down o unprecedened levels and expec here o be no impac.

Tis issue brie oers a closer look a wha nondeense discreionary

spending really is and wha he budge cus will mean.

What exactly is non-defense discretionary spending?

Broadly speaking, here are wo ypes o ederal spendingspending

ha requires an annual appropriaion rom Congress and spending ha

does no. Te ormer caegory is known as discreionary spending,

while he later is known as mandaory. Mandaory programs such

as Social Securiy or Medicare do no need o go hrough he annual

congressional budge process. O course, Congress always has he

auhoriy and abiliy o make changes o hese sors o programs i i so

chooses, bu mandaory spending does no require annual approval.

Discreionary programs, on he oher hand, mus receive new congres-

sionally auhorized spending levels each year.5

In FY 2012 discreionary spending made up abou 36 percen o he

oal ederal budge, abou hal o which was devoed o he miliary

and oher deense purposes. Te oher hal, he nondeense porion,

was divided among dozens o dieren ederal agencies o carry ou

hundreds o dieren programs.6

Unlike he mandaory caegory o ederal spending where a handul o programs such

as Social Securiy, Medicare, and Medicaid make up he vas bulk o he spending,

no single program dominaes he discreionary caegory. In 2012 he single larg-

es nondeense discreionary bureau was he Veerans Healh Adminisraion wih

slighly more han $50 billion in spending, which represened jus 8 percen o oal

nondeense discreionary spending. In ac, he combined spending o he 10 larges

discreionary programs sill makes up less han hal o all nondeense discreionary

spending.7 In 2012 no less han 77 dieren ederal bureaus spen a leas $1 billion in

nondeense discreionary unding.

FIGURE 1

Nondefense discretionary on track towardhistoric lowsNondefense discretionary spending as a share of GDP,19622022

2

3

4

5

6

1

0

HistoricalBudget Control Act caps

With sequester

1962 1972 1982 1992 2002 20222012

Source: Congressional Budget Oce, Oce of Management and Budget.

FIGURE 2

Nondefense discretionary spending is less

than one-fifth of the total budget

Composition of federal spending, 2012

Source: Congressional Budget Oce.

58%Mandatory

19%

Defense

17%

Non-defense

discretionary

6%

Net interest


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Despie his diversiyand nowihsanding he dozens o ocial budge subuncions

used o classiy ederal spendingnondeense discreionary spending can be grouped

ino jus seven general caegories:

Economic invesmens such as highways, schools, and basic scienic research Low-income assisance and anipovery eors

Veerans services and benes Law-enorcemen eors and he jusice sysem Inernaional aairs Energy and agriculural invesmens and environmenal proecion General governmen operaions and miscellaneous aciviies

Nearly every one o hese endeavors enjoys signican public suppor and serves a

broadly acceped public purpose. Pu all seven caegories ogeher, and overall nonde-

ense discreionary spending oaled abou $620 billion in FY 2012, or abou 4 percen

o GDP.8 Since 1962 spending on nondeense discreionary programs has ranged rom

a low o 3.2 percen o GDP o a high o 5.2 percen o GDP.9

Because o legislaion hahas been passed over he pas wo years, however, nondeense discreionary spending is

now se o decline o hisorically low levels.

Impact of the Budget Control Act and the sequester

On Augus 2, 2011, Presiden Barack Obama signed he Budge Conrol Ac ino law.

Ta legislaion, which resolved a monhs-long sando over he deb limi, placed

enorceable caps on boh deense and nondeense discreionary spending.10 Tese caps

were se signicanly below where spending would have been i he previous scal yearslevels had been exended, adjusing only or infaion. One year earlier, using he FY

2010 appropriaion levels as a oundaion, he Congressional Budge Oce projeced

ha nondeense discreionary spending would oal almos $7.1 rillion rom 2013

hrough 2022.11 Under he Budge Conrol Ac, however, nondeense discreionary

spending is now projeced o be slighly more han $6.3 rillion rom 2013 hrough

2022, according o he mos recen Congressional Budge Oce oulook.12 Ta

amouns o a cu o abou $740 billion, or more han 10 percen, over he nex 10 years.

Tough he overall 10-year eec o he spending caps is a cu o abou 10 percen,

he impac is no uniorm in each year. Te caps in he iniial years are somewha

looserorcing relaively smaller cusbu hey will grow igher over ime. Tis scal

year, or example, spending is expeced o be approximaely $47 billion lower han he

Congressional Budge Oce had projeced in Augus 2010, a cu o slighly more han 7

percen. By 2022 he cus will have grown o $95 billion annually, a 12 percen reduc-

ion rom he Augus 2010 projecion.


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As he caps ighen, nondeense

discreionary spending measured

as a share o GDP will decline and

all below 3.2 percen by 2017.

From 1962 hrough 2011 non-

deense discreionary spending

has averaged 3.9 percen o GDPand has never slipped under 3.2

percen. Furhermore, spending

will coninue o decline in each

subsequen year. In 2022, how-

ever, nondeense discreionary

spending is projeced o dip below

2.8 percen o GDP, puting i a

more han 30 percen under he

pas hal-cenury s average.

In addiion o he discreionary spending caps, he Budge Conrol Ac also se up a

separae processknown colloquially as he super commiteeha was designed o

produce even more deci reducion and se up consequences should ha process ail.

I did ail, and hose consequencesaddiional auomaic spending cus known as he

sequeserare scheduled o begin in March 2013.13

Te sequesers auomaic across-he-board cus will aec more han jus nondeense

discreionary spending. Tey will also cu deense spending and several mandaory

programs; mos mandaory spending, however, will be exemp. Bu i he sequeser is

allowed o go orward, i will also cu nondeense discreionary spending even urherhan i has already been cu by he Budge Conrol Ac caps. I ully implemened, he

sequeser will reduce he nondeense discreionary par o he ederal budge by $331

billion rom 2013 hrough 2022, a cu o an addiional 5 percen rom he already-lower

capped levels.14 Te resul: reducing nondeense discreionary spending even urher

rom he already projeced hisoric lows. Insead o oaling 3.2 percen o GDP in 2017,

nondeense discreionary spending would oal less han 3 percen o GDP and would

be on is way down o 2.6 percen by 2022. Tis is less han wo-hirds o wha was pre-

viously is lowes level.

I Congress allows he sequeser o go ino eec, here will be an immediae, across-

he-board uniorm cu o all nonexemp programs.15 In subsequen years, however, he

sequeser will cu discreionary spending no hrough a uniorm, across-he-board cu,

bu hrough lowering he Budge Conrol Ac caps even urher.16

Te Budge Conrol Acs discreionary spending capsboh he ones now in place

and also he lower levels ha will ake eec i he sequeser kicks indo no mandae

FIGURE 3

Caps tighten over time

Percentage reduction in nondefense discretionary spending relative to August 2010 projection

Source: Authors calculations based on Congressional Budget Oce data.

-15%

-12%

-9%

-6%

-3%

0%2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022


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how he cus hey orce would be apporioned. I will be up o Congress each year o

pass appropriaions bills ha bring oal spending in under he limi. Tis means ha

Congress could decide o share he burden equally, applying each years cus propor-

ionaely o every line iem, or ha Congress could decide o cu some programs more

han ohers. Tere is no way o accuraely predic how hese cus will be implemened.

Bu by employing he assumpion ha Congress will apply he cus in rough proporion

o each o he broad caegories, we can begin o ge a sense or how he Budge ConrolAc and he sequeser will impac ederal spending in specic areas.

Economic investments

Tis nondeense discreionary budge caegory includes unding o mainain and

improve he naions ransporaion inrasrucure and educaional sysem; suppor

scienic, echnological, and healh care research and developmen;

and suppor programs o boos regional and local economic devel-

opmen.17

Te hree larges programs under his caegory are heFederal Highway Adminisraion, (which spen $43 billion in 2012),

he Naional Insiues o Healh ($32.7 billion), and he Oce o

Elemenary and Secondary Educaion ($25.3 billion). Overall spend-

ing in his caegory oaled $245.3 billion in 201240 percen o

oal nondeense discreionary spending bu less han 7 percen o all

ederal spending. Discreionary spending on economic invesmens

in 2012 was equivalen o abou 1.6 percen o GDP. Tis is exacly in

line wih he average amoun spen in his area in he pas 10 years.

Under he Budge Conrol Ac caps, by 2016 discreionary spendingon economic invesmens will all below heir lowes levels o he pas

decade, in boh infaion and populaion-adjused erms.18 As a share

o GDP, spending in his area will be lower in 2022 han i has been a

any poin since 1962.

Te sequeser will peel away anoher $132 billion over he nex 10 years rom his

caegory o nondeense discreionary spending. I implemened, spending in his area in

2014 will already be lower in infaion and populaion-adjused dollars han i was a any

poin in he pas 10 years, and by 2022 spending in his caegory will be a ull 16 percen

below is lowes level o he pas decade.

FIGURE 4

Discretionary spending on economicinvestments as a share of GDP, 20022022


With sequester

Source: Authors calculations based on Congressional Budget Oce data

1%

1.5%

2%

0%

.5%

2002 2007 2012 2017 2022


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TABLE 1

Discretionary spending on economic investments, 20022022

Historical BCA caps Sequester

2002-2012

average2012

2013-2022

average2022

2013-2022

average2022

Infation and population

adjusted 2012 dollars248 245 213 194 201 185

Share o GDP 1.60% 1.58% 1.25% 1.04% 1.18% 0.99%

Source: Authors calculations based on Congressional Budget Ofce data.

Low-income assistance and antipoverty efforts

Tis caegory includes housing, nuriion, child care, and energy

assisance o low-income amilies. I also includes some assored oher

social services.19 More han 80 percen o all spending in his area fows

hrough jus hree ederal bureaus: Public and Indian Housing programs

($36.3 billion), he Adminisraion or Children and Families ($17 bil-lion), and he Food and Nuriion Service ($7.4 billion). In 2012 overall

discreionary spending in his caegory oaled $75.6 billion, roughly 12

percen o oal nondeense discreionary spending and slighly more

han 2 percen o all ederal spending. Discreionary spending on low-

income assisance in 2012 was equal o abou 0.5 percen o GDP, which

is he average amoun spen in his caegory over he pas 10 years.

Under he Budge Conrol Ac caps, discreionary spending on low-

income assisance in 2013 is already likely o be a is lowes levels o

he pas decade in boh infaion and populaion-adjused erms. Ineach o he pas 10 years, his caegory o spending has oaled abou

0.5 percen o GDP. By 2022, however, wih he caps in place, spend-

ing will decline o 0.3 percen o GDP.

Te sequeser will cu anoher $41 billion rom hese programs. I implemened, discreion-

ary spending on low-income assisance as a share o GDP will be lower in 2022 han i has

been a any ime since 1978.

TABLE 2

Discretionary spending on low-income assistance, 20022022


2002-2012

average2012

2013-2022

average2022

2013-2022

average2022



Share o GDP 0.50% 0.49% 0.38% 0.32% 0.36% 0.31%


FIGURE 5

Discretionary spending on low-incomeassistance as a share of GDP, 20022022

Source: Authors calculations based on Con ressional Bud et Oce data

.3%

.4%

.5%

.6%

0%

.1%

.2%

2002 2007 2012 2017 2022


With sequester


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Veterans

Tis caegory includes various benes and services or our naions veerans. Mos o

he discreionary spending or veerans goes oward heir healh care services.20 Te

Veerans Healh Adminisraion spen $50.1 billion in 2012, which accouned or 86

percen o he $58.4 billion in overall discreionary spending on veerans las year.

Discreionary spending on veerans made up abou 9 percen o oal nondeense discre-ionary spending and 1.6 percen o all ederal spending in 2012. I was equivalen o 0.4

percen o GDP, which is higher han he average o 0.3 percen rom he pas 10 years.

Discreionary spending on veerans has grown subsanially in recen

years. From 2002 o 2007 discreionary oulays on veerans ser-

vicesmainly healh carehovered around 0.25 percen o GDP.

Saring in 2008 spending began o grow such ha by 2012 i was

abou 0.4 percen o GDP. Over he nex several years, he Budge

Conrol Ac caps will hal his rend and begin o reverse i. By 2022

discreionary spending on veerans will be back a 2008 levelsroughly 0.3 percen o GDP.

I he sequeser goes ino eec, his area o spending will be largely

unaeced in he rs year because he Deparmen o Veerans Aairs

is exemp rom he across-he-board auomaic cus in he sequeser.21

In uure years, however, he sequeser operaes by lowering he exising

Budge Conrol Ac caps, no hrough an auomaic across-he-board

cu, and hose caps will aec he Deparmen o Veerans Aairs. As a

resul, hough spending in his area will no be reduced by he sequeser

in scal year 2013, spending would go down in subsequen years. Under he sequeser,hereore, discreionary spending on veerans would be reduced by abou $34 billion rom

2014 hrough 2022.

TABLE 3

Discretionary spending on veterans services, 20022022


2002-2012

average2012

2013-2022

average2022

2013-2022

average2022



Share o GDP 0.29% 0.38% 0.33% 0.30% 0.32% 0.28%


FIGURE 6

Discretionary spending on veteransservices as a share of GDP, 20022022


.2%

.3%

.4%

.1%

0%


With sequester

2002 2007 2012 2017 2022


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Law enforcement and justice

Tis caegory includes ederal eors aimed a crime prevenion and invesigaion, border

proecion and immigraion enorcemen, he ederal prison sysem, and U.S. atorneys

and he ederal cours, including he Supreme Cour.22 Te hree larges iems in his

caegory are Cusoms and Border Proecion (which spen $10.8 billion in 2012), he

ederal prison sysem ($6.8 billion), and he ederal cours ($6.2 bil-lion). Oher noable bureaus in his caegory include he Federal Bureau

o Invesigaion, he U.S. Marshals, he Bureau o Alcohol, obacco,

Firearms and Explosives, and he Secre Service. Alogeher, discreion-

ary spending on law enorcemen and jusice oaled $54 billion in

2012abou 9 percen o all nondeense discreionary spending and

1.5 percen o all ederal spending. Discreionary spending in his area

amouned o 0.3 percen as a share o GDP, abou he same as he aver-

age spending in his caegory during he pas 10 years.

Under he caps imposed by he Budge Conrol Ac, ederal discre-ionary spending on law enorcemen and jusice will all below 0.3

percen o GDP by 2017. Ta is lower han in 2007, he lowes spend-

ing year o he pas decade. By 2022 spending levels will mach hose

o 1998. I he sequeser is implemened, anoher $32 billion will be

cu rom his caegory hrough 2022.

TABLE 4

Discretionary spending on law enforcement and justice, 20022022


2002-2012

average 2012

2013-2022

average 2022

2013-2022

average 2022



Share o GDP 0.33% 0.35% 0.29% 0.26% 0.28% 0.25%


International affairs

Tis caegory includes developmen, humaniarian, and securiy assisance o oreign coun-

ries. I also includes he mainenance o and securiy or all U.S. embassies, ambassadors,

and oreign-service ocers.23 In 2012 developmen and humaniarian assisance oaled

$23.4 billion, securiy assisance oaled $12 billion, and he basic operaions o U.S. oreign

policy cos $13.5 billion. Te ederal governmens oal bill or inernaional aairs in 2012

was $49.8 billion, which represened 8 percen o all nondeense discreionary spending and

1.4 percen o oal ederal spending. Discreionary spending on inernaional aairs was

equal o 0.3 percen o GDP in 2012, he same as he average rom he previous 10 years.

FIGURE 7

Discretionary spending on law enforcementand justice as a share of GDP, 20022022


.2%

.3%

.4%

.1%

0%

2002 2007 2012 2017 2022


With sequester


9/12


Spending on inernaional aairs is he one caegory o nondeense

discreionary spending ha is projeced o coninue o grow under

he Budge Conrol Ac caps, a leas in he rs ew years. In 2012

he ederal governmen spen jus more han 0.3 percen o GDP in

his area. Even wih he caps, ha percenage is projeced o grow o

0.35 percen o GDP by 2014. Only hen will he caps sar o orce a

decline. Tis projecion, however, includes abou $10 billion a year inwar spendingmainly unding or operaions in Aghanisanha

is exemp rom he caps.24 Wihou ha exemp spending discreion-

ary spending on inernaional aairs will begin alling immediaely

under he caps, jus as he spending in every oher caegory will. By

2022 i will decline o jus 0.2 percen o GDPlower han a any

poin since 1962. Te sequeser would cu anoher $26 billion rom

his caegory hrough 2022.

TABLE 5

Discretionary spending on international affairs, 20022022


2002-2012

average2012

2013-2022

average2022

2013-2022

average2022



Share o GDP 0.28% 0.32% 0.30% 0.26% 0.28% 0.25%


Energy, agriculture, natural resources, and the environment

Tis caegory includes a variey o eors o improve he naions energy

and agriculural resources. Tese include several programs run by he

Deparmen o Energy o sudy energy eciency, ossil uels, renewable

energy sources, energy reliabiliy, and even nuclear wase disposal, or

a oal o $13.7 billion in 2012. Tey also include agencies wihin he

Deparmen o Agriculure, including he Agriculural Research Service

($1.2 billion) and he Naional Insiue o Food and Agriculure ($1.2

billion). Te caegory also includes he naional parks sysem and

programs ocused on environmenal proecion and conservaion.25 Te

Environmenal Proecion Agency ($10 billion) eaures prominenly

in his caegory, as do an assormen o smaller agencies such as he

Naional Park Service ($2.9 billion), he U.S. Fish and Wildlie Service

($1.6 billion), and he U.S. Geological Survey ($1.1 billion). Alogeher,

discreionary spending in his caegory oaled $59.3 billion in 2012,

abou 10 percen o all nondeense discreionary spending and 1.7 per-

cen o all ederal spending. Tis amouned o 0.4 percen o GDP.

FIGURE 8

Discretionary spending on international

affairs as a share of GDP, 20022022

.2%

.3%

.4%

.1%

0%

2002 2007 2012 2017 2022


With sequester

r : h r l l i n n n r i n l

FIGURE 9

Discretionary spending on energy,agriculture, and the environment asa share of GDP, 20022022

.2%

.3%

.4%

.1%

0%

2002 2007 2012 2017 2022

.5%


With sequester



10/12


Under he Budge Conrol Ac caps, discreionary spending in his caegory is se o

decline o is lowes level on record by 2015. From 2002 o 2012, spending or his ca-

egory averaged 0.35 percen o GDP. Under he budge caps, spending in FY 2014 will

already be below ha average. Te sequeser will cu an addiional $27 billion rom his

area hrough 2022.

TABLE 6

Discretionary spending on energy, agriculture, and the environment,

20022022


2002-2012

average2012

2013-2022

average2022

2013-2022

average2022



Share o GDP 0.35% 0.38% 0.26% 0.22% 0.24% 0.21%


General government operations and miscellaneous activities

Tis nal caegory includes he general operaing expenses o he ederal governmen

and any aciviies no conained in he oher caegorieshe mos signican o which

are public healh, disease conrol and prevenion, and consumer produc saey.26 Te

single larges agency in his caegory is he Federal Emergency Managemen Agency

($11.6 billion), ollowed by he Inernal Revenue Service ($11.1 billion). Tis caegory

is also home o he Ceners or Disease Conrol and Prevenion ($6

billion), he Food and Drug Adminisraion ($1.9 billion), and o

course, he operaing expenses o he U.S. Congress ($2.2 billion).

A number o smaller agencies and programs can also be ound here,including he Bureau o Labor Saisicswhich, among oher asks,

produces he monhly employmen reporhe Small Business

Adminisraion, he Consumer Produc Saey Commission, he

Federal Elecion Commission, and he Occupaional Saey and

Healh Adminisraion.

Discreionary spending in his caegory oaled $77.2 billion in 2012,

which represened 12 percen o all nondeense discreionary spend-

ing, abou 2.2 percen o all ederal spending, and 0.5 percen o GDP.

FY 2012 spending on basic governmen operaions and oher miscel-

laneous aciviies no conained in he oher caegories was already

jus below he average o 0.5 percen o GDP or he decade rom 2002

hrough 2012. Te Budge Conrol Ac caps will urher reduce spend-

ing in his caegory, and by 2015 will cu i down o is lowes level on

record, abou 0.4 percen o GDP. Te sequeser will urher reduce

FIGURE 10

Discretionary spending on general

government operations and miscellaneousactivities as a share of GDP, 20022022

.2%

.3%

.4%

.1%

0%

2002 2007 2012 2017 2022

.5%

.6%

.7%


With sequester



11/12


spending in his caegory by an esimaed $38 billion. I he sequeser is implemened, by

2022 spending will be a ull 20 percen lower han he lowes poin in he pas 50 years.

TABLE 7

Discretionary spending on general government operations and miscellaneous

activities, 20022022


2002-2012

average2012

2013-2022

average2022

2013-2022

average2022



Share o GDP 0.53% 0.50% 0.38% 0.35% 0.36% 0.33%


Conclusion

Nondeense discreionary spending may no have a very descripive name, and mos

Americans may have litle concep o wha i is exacly. Bu, in ac, many o he ederalgovernmens mos popular and imporan uncions are unded by nondeense discre-

ionary dollars. Everyhing rom border conrol o he Smihsonian Insiuion, rom

ood inspecions o cancer research, and rom highways o schools is conained wihin

he nondescrip caegory o nondeense discreionary spending. Over he pas several

years, however, Congress and Presiden Obama have enaced legislaion ha will dra-

maically curail ederal spending on all o hese vial aciviies.

Te Budge Conrol Acs caps will reduce nondeense discreionary spending o

hisorically low levels, and he impending sequeser will cu even deeper. Tere can be

no doub ha such enormous cus and such low levels o ederal invesmen will havenoiceable impacs on ordinary Americans. I remains o be seen, however, i Americans

will olerae hese impacs.

Methodology

Te calculaions in his issue brie are based on he mos recen Congressional Budge

Oce projecions, released in Augus 2012. Tose CBO projecions do no allocae he

cus ha would be necessary o mee he Budge Conrol Ac caps, or he lower seques-

er-level caps. Raher he CBO projecs all budge accouns wihou he eec o he

caps, and hen repors he overall magniude o he cu necessary o bring nondeense

discreionary spending ino compliance wih he Budge Conrol Ac. For his brie,

hose cus were divided proporionaely by aeced individual budge accoun, and hen

aggregaed o he larger caegories.

Michael Linden is the Director of Tax and Budget Policy at the Center for American Progress.


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12 C t A i P | B d t C t S t F di P th t Hi t i L

Endnotes

1 Congressional Budget Oce, An Update to the Budget andEconomic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022 (2012).

2 Michael Ettlinger and Michael Linden, Discretionary Spend-ing is Good Spending, Too, Center or American Progress,March 24, 2010, available at http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/news/2010/03/24/7451/discretionary-

spending-is-good-spending-too/. For public supportregarding ederal programs, see, or example: The Econo-mist/YouGov Poll, April 36, 2010, available at http://media.economist.com/images/pd/TabReport20100407.pd.

3 Oce o Management and Budget, Historical Tables, Table8.4, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals/ (last accessed January 2013).

4 Congressional Budget Oce, An Update to the Budget andEconomic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022.

5 Oce o Management and Budget, Analytical Perspectives,Budget o the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013(Executive Oce o the President, 2013).

6 Congressional Budget Oce, The Budget and EconomicOutlook: An Update (2010).

7 In this case, a program is dened as an individual bureau

within the executive branch. For example, though theVeterans Health Administration may operate several distinctprograms, the overall unding is counted as one program.


9 Oce o Management and Budget, Historical Tables, Table8.4.

10 Bill Heni Jr, Elizabeth Rybicki, and Shannon M. Mahan, TheBudget Control Act o 2011 (Washington: CongressionalResearch Service, 2011). Originally, the Budget Control Actdivided discretionary spending into security and non-security categories that are slightly dierent rom deenseand nondeense. Upon the ailure o the special jointcommittee on decit reduction, however, the division hasreverted back to the more traditional categories.

11 Congressional Budget Oce, The Budget and Economic

Outlook: An Update.


13 The automatic spending cuts in the sequester were origi-nally scheduled to begin at the beginning o 2013, but theAmerican Taxpayer Relie Act delayed implementation ortwo months. See Mindy R. Levit and others, The Fiscal Cliand the American Taxpayer Relie Act o 2012 (Washington:Congressional Research Service, 2013).

14 Congressional Budget Oce, An Update to the Budget andEconomic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022. Projectionsdo not include the eects o the recent American TaxpayerRelie Act.

15 Oce o Management and Budget, OMB Report Pursuantto the Sequestration Transparency Act o 2012 (ExecutiveOce o the President, 2012).

16 Bill Heni Jr, Elizabeth Rybicki, and Shannon M. Mahan, TheBudget Control Act o 2011.

17 The economic investments category is made up o theollowing budget subunctions: general science and basicresearch (251); space fight, research, and supporting activi-ties (252); ground transportation (401); air transportation(402); water transportation (403); other transportation (407);community development (451); area and regional develop-ment (452); elementary, secondary, and vocational educa-

tion (501); higher education (502); research and generaleducational aids (503); training and employment (504); andhealth research and training (552).

18 Infation projections come rom Congressional BudgetOce, Baseline Economic Forecast, August 2012 (2012),available at http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43542.Population projections come rom the U.S. Census Bureau,2012 National Population Projections (U.S. Departmento Commerce, 2012) available at http://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012.html.

19 The low-income assistance category is made up o the ol-lowing budget subunctions: housing assistance (604), oodand nutrition assistance (605), other income security (609),and social services (506).

20 The veterans category is made up o the ollowing budgetsubunctions: income security or veterans (701), veteranseducation, training, and rehabilitation (702), hospital and

medical care or veterans (703), veterans housing (704), andother veterans benets and services (705).

21 Karen Spar, Budget Sequestration and Selected ProgramExemptions and Special Rules (Washington: CongressionalResearch Service, 2012).

22 The law enorcement category is made up o the ollowingbudget subunctions: ederal law enorcement activities(751), ederal litigative and judicial activities (752), ederalcorrectional activities (753), and criminal justice assistance(754).

23 The international aairs category is made up o the ol-lowing budget subunctions: international developmentand humanitarian assistance (151), international securityassistance (152), conduct o oreign aairs (153), oreigninormation and exchange activities (154), and internationalnancial activities (155).

24 Congressional Budget Oce, An Update to the Budget and

Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022.

25 The energy, agriculture, and environment category ismade up o the ollowing budget subunctions: energysupply (271); energy conservation (272); emergency energypreparedness (274); energy inormation, policy, and regula-tion (276); water resources (301); conservation and landmanagement (302); recreational resources (303); pollutioncontrol and abatement (304); other natural resources (306);arm income stabilization (251); and agricultural researchand services (352).

26 The general government category is made up o the ol-lowing budget subunctions: mortgage credit (371); PostalService (372); deposit insurance (373); other advancemento commerce (376); disaster relie and insurance (453); otherlabor services (505); health care servi ces (551); consumerand occupational health and saety (554); Medicare (571);general retirement and disability insurance (601); ederalemployee retirement and disability (602); unemployment

compensation (603); Social Security (651); legislative unc-tions (801); executive direction and management (802);central scal operations (803); general property and recordsmanagement (804); central personnel management (805);and other general government (808).
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/news/2010/03/24/7451/discretionary-spending-is-good-spending-too/http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/news/2010/03/24/7451/discretionary-spending-is-good-spending-too/http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/news/2010/03/24/7451/discretionary-spending-is-good-spending-too/http://media.economist.com/images/pdf/TabReport20100407.pdfhttp://media.economist.com/images/pdf/TabReport20100407.pdfhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals/http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals/http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43542http://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012.htmlhttp://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012.htmlhttp://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012.htmlhttp://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012.htmlhttp://www.cbo.gov/publication/43542http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals/http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Historicals/http://media.economist.com/images/pdf/TabReport20100407.pdfhttp://media.economist.com/images/pdf/TabReport20100407.pdfhttp://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/news/2010/03/24/7451/discretionary-spending-is-good-spending-too/http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/news/2010/03/24/7451/discretionary-spending-is-good-spending-too/http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/news/2010/03/24/7451/discretionary-spending-is-good-spending-too/

budget cuts set funding path to historic lows

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