What is Non-Defense Discretionary Spending?
- “Discretionary spending” is the portion of the Federal budget (about 30 percent) that is appropriated each year by Congress and is allocated roughly half to defense and half to non-defense programs.
- The other 70% of the budget is called “mandatory spending,” because the amount of outlays flow from legal obligations of the federal government established in law–mostly in the form of “entitlement” programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Interest payments on the debt — the fastest growing part of the budget — is also mandatory spending.
- Spending caps on defense and non-defense discretionary spending, for each year through 2021, were put in place in 2011 as part of debt ceiling negotiations.
- However, the caps were lowered further in 2013 (by automatic reductions called “sequestration”) when a special congressional committee failed to achieve deficit reduction from entitlement reforms and new revenues.
- Congress quickly backed away from the sequester-level caps on discretionary spending and increased the caps — two years at a time — in Bipartisan Budget Agreements in late 2013 (for FY’14 and ’15), in 2015 (for FY’16 and ’17), and again in 2018 (for FY’18 and FY’19).
- The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 raised the statutory caps on discretionary spending by a total of $296 billion over FY’18 and FY’19.
- Defense caps:
- FY’18 increased from $549 billion to $629 billion (+$80 billion, 15%)
- FY”19 increased from $562 billion to $647 billion (+$85 billion, 15%)
- Non-Defense caps:
- FY’18 increased from $516 billion to $579 billion (+$63 billion, 12%)
- FY’19 increased from $529 billion to $597 billion (+$68 billion, 13%)
- Defense caps:
- Non-defense discretionary funds a multitude of government operations and programs including law enforcement, veterans healthcare, homeland security, education, prisons, NASA, disease and epidemic control, highways & bridges, food and drug inspection, disaster relief, airports, health research, housing assistance, and many other functions of government.
Following are non-defense discretionary programs/categories funded at $1 billion or more in FY 2017.
FY 2017 Budget Authority and Outlays by Function, Category, and Program
| Budget Function | Program or Program Categories Source for Data: Budget of the United States, OMB FY 2017 Outlays Baseline Click on program titles for nonpartisan CRS background reports |
FY 2017 (rounded) |
Defense (Budget Function 050) Go to the “Defense Spending” page |
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International Affairs (Budget Function 150)Click here for spending and background on State Dept. and Foreign Aid |
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General Science, Space & Technology (Budget Function 250) |
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| NASA | $19 billion | |
| National Science Foundation | $6.7 billion | |
| Dept of Energy Science Programs | $5.9 billion | |
| CRS Report: Overview of Federal Research and Development Funding | n/a | |
Energy (Budget Function 270) |
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| Fossil Energy Funding | $0.8 billion | |
| Uranium Enrichment Decontamination | $0.8 billion | |
| Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (supply and conservation) | $2 billion | |
| Nuclear Energy R&D Funding | $0.9 billion | |
Natural Resources & Environment (Budget Function 300) |
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| Pollution Control and Abatement (EPA) — Appropriations Overview | ||
| —Regulatory, Enforcement, and Research | $3.3 billion | |
| —EPA State and Tribal Assistance Grants | $3.8 billion | |
| —Hazardous Substance Cleanup (Superfund) | $1.1 billion | |
| —CRS: Nonpartisan Background Paper on Climate Change for Congress —CRS: Changes in the Arctic Background and Issues for Congress |
n/a | |
| Corps of Engineers – Water Projects | $7.2 billion | |
| Forest Service | $6.5 billion | |
| Operation of Recreational Resources | $3 billion | |
| Fish and Wildlife Service | $1.5 billion | |
| Nat’l Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | $6 billion | |
| U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | $2 billion | |
| Management of Public Lands (BLM) | $1.2 billion | |
| Bureau of Reclamation (responsible for construction of most of the large irrigation and water resources infrastructure in the West) | $1.3 billion | |
Agriculture (Budget Function 350) |
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| Farm Income Stabilization (these are administrative expenses; the program itself is an entitlement) | $1.3 billion | |
| Research and Education | $2.2 billion | |
| Animal and Plant Inspection | $1.1 billion | |
Commerce and Housing Credit (Budget Function 370) |
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| National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): Science and Technology | $1 billion | |
| Economic and Demographic Statistics | $1.5 billion | |
| Small and Minority Business Assistance | $0.7 billion | |
Transportation (Budget Function 400) |
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| Federal funding for Highways: is a budgetary oddity since the spending authority is considered to be “mandatory spending” since it is provided in multiyear highway “authorizing legislation,” however, the outlays are considered to be “discretionary” since they are controlled by the Appropriations Committee. | $43 billion | |
| Federal Funding for Mass Transit similar to funding for Highways, explained above, the outlays for mass transit are considered to be “discretionary,” although the spending authority is controlled by multiyear authorizing legislation. | $10.5 billion | |
| Airports and Airways (FAA) | $17 billion | |
| Marine Safety and Transportation | $8.6 billion | |
| Air Transportation Security (TSA) | $5 billion | |
| Railroads | $3.4 billion | |
| Highway Safety | $1.5 billion | |
Community and Regional Development & Disaster Relief (Budget Function 450)
|
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| Disaster Assistance and Response Programs | $3 billion | |
| Indian Programs | $1.7 billion | |
| Community Development Grants to States and Cities | $6.8 billion | |
| FEMA State and Local Grants | $2.2 billion | |
| Other Disaster Programs | $1.4 billion | |
| Rural Development Programs | $0.8 billion | |
Education, Employment & Training, Social Services (Budget Function 500) |
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| Pell Grants and other Higher Education and Student Aid Federal Pell Grant Program: How it Works (funded primarily through discretionary appropriations, with a portion through mandatory spending). |
$27 billion | |
| Education for the Disadvantaged Title I | $16 billion | |
| Special Education Funding (Children with Disabilities) | $13 billion | |
| Children and Family Services | $11.1 billion | |
| School Improvement Funding | $4.5 billion | |
| Training and Employment Services | $6.9 billion | |
| Older Americans Act and Aging Services | $1.9 billion | |
| Innovation & Improvement (Charter Schools and Non-Public Education) | $1.3 billion | |
| Vocational and Adult Education | $1.5 billion | |
| Indian Education | $1 billion | |
| Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps and Senior Service Corps) | $1.1 billion | |
| Impact Aid (payments to states/cities) | $1.4 billion | |
| Labor law, statistics and other labor services | $1.9 billion | |
| Smithsonian Institution: protecting national treasures and increasing knowledge in art, science & history [2018 SI bj 2015 2011 2007 2007 2006 1996 1992 1977] | $863 million | |
| Corporation for Public Broadcasting | $445 million | |
Health (Budget Function 550) |
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| Note: the bulk of U.S. health spending is through the Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance, and Affordable Care Act programs, all of which are “entitlement programs” i.e. annual spending is determined by benefit formulas and the number of eligible individuals — not by annual appropriations decisions. See “Medicaid and Medicaid,” “Affordable Care Act,” and “Other Mandatory” pages of this website for program and spending details. | ||
| National Institutes of Health | $32 billion | |
| Centers for Disease Control Funding | $6.5 billion | |
| Indian Health Service | $4.9 billion | |
| Mental Health, Substance Abuse (SAMHSA) | $3.6 billion | |
| HRSA: health care services for the uninsured and medically underserved and Social Services Emergency Fund | $7.2 billion | |
| Food and Drug Administration Overview
Medical Devices; Drugs: Safety and Effectiveness; FY 2016 Appropriations; Food Safety Primer; PDUFA; Safety and Innovation Act |
$2.6 billion | |
| Food Safety and Inspection Service | $1 billion | |
| Occupational and Mine Safety and Health | $1 billion | |
Medicare Administrative Costs (Budget Function 570) |
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| Medicare Hospital Insurance (Part A) Administrative Costs | $2.9 billion | |
| Medicare Part B Administrative Costs | $2.8 billion | |
| See the “Medicare and Medicaid” page for outlays from Medicare Hospital Insurance, Supplementary Medical Insurance, and Prescription Drugs which are entitlement programs, i.e., annual outlays is determined by benefit formulas and the number of legally eligible beneficiaries — not by annual appropriations decisions. Net mandatory spending for Medicare is $602 billion. | ||
Income Security (including Housing, Food & Nutrition) (Budget Function 600) |
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| Rental Housing Assistanc (Section 8) | $20 billion | |
| Project-Based Rental Assistance | $11 billion | |
| Public Housing Operating and Capital Fund | $6.5 billion | |
| HOME Investment Partnerships Program | $1 billion | |
| Nutrition for Women Infants and Children | $6.4 billion | |
| LIHEAP: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program | $3.1 billion | |
| Unemployment Trust Fund: Administrative Expenses | $4.1 billion | |
| Homeless Assistance | $2.3 billion | |
| Childcare and Development Block Grant
(In addition to this amount, there is a $3 billion Child Care Entitlement to States that is “mandatory” spending.) |
$2.8 billion | |
| Rural Housing Assistance | $1.5 billion | |
| Refugee Assistance | $1.8 billion | |
| Supplemental Security Income Administration | $5.4 billion | |
Social Security Administration (Budget Function 650) |
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| Social Security Administration (Old Age and Survivors Insurance Expenses) | $2.8 billion | |
| Social Security Administration (Disability Insurance Expenses) | $3.0 billion | |
| See “Other Mandatory” Spending page for Social Security Old Age and Survivors Benefits and Disability Benefits which are entitlement programs, i.e., annual spending for particular benefits is determined by the number of legally eligible beneficiaries — not by annual appropriations decisions. Total mandatory spending for Social Security is $970 billion. | ||
Veterans Benefits and Services (Budget Function 700) |
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| Veterans Healthcare (unlike other VA benefits that are statutory entitlements, healthcare is part of the annual discretionary budget) | $64 billion | |
| Veterans Administration Medical Facilities and Construction | $5.5 billion | |
| Department of Veterans Affairs Administrative Expenses | $7.5 billion | |
| See “Other Mandatory” Spending page for Veterans compensation, pension, education, training, and rehabilitation which are entitlement programs, i.e., annual spending for particular benefits is determined by the number of legally eligible veterans — not by annual appropriations decisions. Total mandatory spending for veterans is $104 billion. | ||
Law Enforcement, Prisons, Administration of Justice (Budget Function 750) |
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| Border and Transportation Security | $21 billion | |
| Federal Litigation (Civil and Criminal) | $5.8 billion | |
| Judicial Activities | $7.1 billion | |
| Federal Prison System | $7.5 billion | |
| Criminal Investigations (FBI, DEA, DHS) | $6.5 billion | |
| State and Local Law Enforcement Grants | $1.4 billion | |
| Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) | $1.2 billion | |
| US Secret Service | $2 billion | |
General Government (Budget Function 800)
|
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| Internal Revenue Service Budget | $11 billion | |
| Legislative Branch: House, Senate, Government Accountability Office, Architect of the Capitol, Government Printing Office | $4 billion | |
| Executive Office of the President funding | $0.4 billion | |
Net Interest (Budget Function 900) is mandatory spending, i.e., it is determined by the amount of public debt and interest rates, not by annual appropriations decisions. |
N/A | |
