Mandatory spending
Channel: all the knowledge of the universe PRINCIPIA
Date: 2022-01-18

Mandatory spending, by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=10061101 / CC BY SA 3.0

#Law_and_economics
#Government_spending
#Public_economics
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.
Congress established mandatory programs under authorization laws.
Congress legislates spending for mandatory programs outside of the annual appropriations bill process.
Congress can only reduce the funding for programs by changing the authorization law itself.
This requires a 60-vote majority in the Senate to pass.
Discretionary spending on the other hand will not occur unless Congress acts each year to provide the funding through an appropriations bill.
Mandatory spending has taken up a larger share of the federal budget over time.
In fiscal year （FY） 1965, mandatory spending accounted for 5.
7 percent of gross domestic product （GDP）.
In FY 2016, mandatory spending accounted for about 60 percent of the federal budget and over 13 percent of GDP. Mandatory spending received $2.
4 trillion of the total $3.
9 trillion of federal spending in 2016.
Mandatory Spending for FY 2016 The bulk of mandatory spending is for entitlement programs, which are social welfare programs with specific requirements.
Congress sets eligibility requirements and benefits for entitlement programs.
If the eligibility requirements are met for a specific mandatory program, outlays are made automatically.
Entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare make up the bulk of mandatory spending.
Together they account for nearly 50 percent of the federal budget.
Other mandatory spending programs include Income Security Programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Fam...