[A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
A Note to the Reader, iii
1. What Is the Budget?, 1
2. Where the Money Comes From--and Where It Goes, 5
Revenues, 7
Spending, 10
``On'' and ``Off'' Budget, 15
3. How Does the Government Create a Budget? 17
The President's Budget, 17
The Budget Process, 18
Action in Congress, 19
Monitoring the Budget, 20
4. Deficits and the Debt, 23
Why the Deficit is a Problem, 25
Deficits and Debt, 26
Deficit Reduction Efforts, 28
5. The President's 1997 Budget, 31
Reaching Balance, 31
Maintaining Our Values, 32
Making Government Work, 33
Glossary, 37
List of Charts and Tables, 41
[[Page iii]]
A Note to the Reader
Next year, your Federal Government will spend over $1.6 trillion.
Needless to say, that's a lot of money. And the Government spends it
on lots of things--on programs as large and popular as Social Security, and on
activities as small and unknown as repairs to the National Zoo.
Together, these programs are what make up the Federal budget.
How much do you know about the budget? If your answer is ``not much,''
you're not alone. In fact, hardly anybody knows everything that's in the
thousands of pages, and several books, that make up the budget each year.
But we know you care a lot about how the Government spends your money.
That's why we created A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget last year,
and why we have published this second edition. With it, we hope to make
the budget more accessible and understandable.
The Guide is designed to give you a walking tour of the budget.
In these pages, we will outline for you how the Government raises revenues and
spends money, how the President and Congress enact the budget, why the
budget deficit and Federal debt are problems, and what the President
hopes to accomplish with his 1997 budget.
After you read these pages, we hope that you will think the tour was worth
your time. And we hope you will give us your suggestions about how we can
make the Guide more useful to you in the future.
[[Page 1]]
1. What Is the Budget?
What is ``the Federal budget''? It is:
a plan for how the Government spends your money.
What activities are funded? How much does it spend for defense,
national parks, the FBI, Medicare, issuing passports, and meat and
fish inspection?
a plan for how the Government pays for its activities.
How much revenue does it raise through different kinds of
taxes--income taxes, excise taxes, and social insurance payroll
taxes?
a plan for Government borrowing.
If spending is greater than revenues, the Government runs a deficit.
To finance deficits, the Government has to borrow money.
Government borrowing adds to the national debt.
something that affects the Nation's economy.
Some types of spending--such as improvements in education and support
for science and technology--increase productivity and raise
incomes in the future.
Taxes, on the other hand, reduce incomes, leaving people with less
money to spend.
something that is affected by the Nation's economy.
When the economy is doing well, people are earning more and
unemployment is low. In this atmosphere, revenues increase and
the deficit shrinks.
an historical record.
The budget reports on how the Government has spent money in
the past, and how that spending was financed.
The 1997 budget is a document that embodies the President's budget
proposal to Congress for fiscal 1997, the fiscal year that begins on
October 1, 1996. It reflects the President's priorities and his plan
to balance the budget by 2002.
[[Page 2]]
The Federal budget, of course, is not the only budget that affects the
economy or the American people. The budgets of State and
local governments have an impact as well. While the Federal Government
spends about 22 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (or GDP, which
measures the size of the economy), State and local governments spend
about another 11 percent (see Chart 1-1).
State and local governments are independent of the Federal Government,
and they have their own sources of revenue (taxes and borrowing). But
the Federal Government supplements State and local revenues by making
grants to them. Of the $961 billion that State and local governments
spent in 1995, $213 billion came from Federal grants.
Compared to six other industrialized nations, the United States
allocates the smallest share of its GDP to government (Federal, State,
and local combined), except for Japan (see Chart 12).
Chart 1-1. Government Spending as a Share of GDP, 1995
[[Page 3]]
Chart 1-2. Total Government Outlays as a Percent of GDP
[[Page 5]
2. Where the Money Comes From--and Where it Goes
In a typical American household, a father and mother might sit around
the kitchen table to review the family budget. They might discuss how
much they expect to earn each year, how much they can spend on food,
shelter, clothing, transportation, and perhaps a vacation, and how
much they might be able to save for their future needs.
If they do not have enough money to make ends meet, they might discuss
how they can spend less, such as by cutting back on restaurants,
movies, or other entertainment. They also might consider whether to
try to earn more by working more hours or taking another job. If they
expect their shortfall to be temporary, they might try to borrow.
Chart 2-1. Family Budgeting
[[Page 6]]
Generally speaking, the Federal Government plans its budget much like
families do. The President and Congress determine how much money they
expect the Government to receive in each of the next several years,
where it will come from, and how much to spend to reach their
goals--goals for national defense, foreign affairs, social insurance
for the elderly, health insurance for the elderly and poor, law
enforcement, education, transportation, science and technology, and
others.
They decide how much spending they will finance through taxes and how
much through borrowing. They debate how to use the budget to help the
economy grow, or to redistribute income. And, especially lately, they
debate how to reduce spending in order to eliminate the deficit and
balance the budget.
In this chapter, we will discuss these decisions in some detail--that
is, how the Government raises revenues and where it spends money.
Chart 2-2. National Budgeting
[[Page 7]]
Revenues
The money that the Federal Government uses to pay its bills--its
revenues--comes mostly from taxes. In recent years, revenues
have been lower than spending, and the Government has borrowed to
finance the difference between revenues and spending--that is, the
deficit.
Revenues come from these sources:
Individual income taxes will raise an estimated $645 billion in 1997,
equal to about 8 percent of GDP--about the same percent as in each of
the last 40 years.
Social insurance payroll taxes--the fastest growing category of Federal
revenues--include Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes, unemployment
insurance taxes, and Federal employee retirement payments. This
category has grown from two percent of GDP in 1955 to seven percent in
1997.
Corporate income taxes, which will raise an estimated $185 billion in
1997, have shrunk steadily as a percent of GDP, from 4.6 percent in
1955 to 2.2 percent today.
Chart 2-3. The Federal Government Dollar--Where It Comes From
[[Page 8]]
Excise taxes apply to various products, including alcohol, tobacco,
transportation fuels, and telephone services. The Government earmarks
some of these taxes to support certain activities--including highways,
airports and airways, and the cleanup of hazardous substances--and
deposits others in the general fund.
The Government also collects miscellaneous revenues--e.g., customs
duties, Federal Reserve earnings, fines, penalties, and forfeitures.
Table 2-1. Revenues By Source-Summary
(In billions of dollars)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 Estimate
Source Actual 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individual income taxes 590 631 645 683 714 749 790 835
Corporate income taxes 157 167 185 202 213 225 237 246
Payroll taxes 484 508 536 561 589 619 647 679
Excise taxes 57 54 60 60 62 63 64 66
Estate and gift taxes 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 24
Customs duties 19 19 20 21 21 22 22 24
Miscellaneous receipts 32 32 32 33 34 35 37 38
Total revenues 1,355 1,427 1,495 1,578 1,653 1,734 1,820 1,912
Notes: The revenues listed in this table do not include revenues from
the Government's business-like activities-e.g., the sale of
electricity and fees to national parks. The Government counts these
revenues on the spending side of the budget, deducting them from other
spending to calculate its outlays for the year.
Numbers may not add to the totals due to rounding.
[[Page 9]]
Chart 2-4. Composition of Revenues Over the Last 40 Years
Chart 2-5. Revenues as a Percent of GDP-Comparison With Other Countries
[[Page 10]]
Spending
As we have said, the Federal Government will spend over $1.6
trillion 1 in 1997, which we divided into eight large categories as
shown in Chart 2-6.
The largest Federal program is Social Security, which provides monthly
benefits to more than 43 million retired and disabled workers, their
dependents, and survivors. It accounts for 22 percent of all Federal
spending.
Medicare, which provides health care coverage for over 37 million
elderly Americans and people with disabilities, consists of Part A
(hospital insurance) and Part B (insurance for physician costs and
other services). Since its birth in 1965, Medicare has accounted for
an ever-growing share of spending. In 1997, it will comprise 11
percent.
Chart 2-6. The Federal Government Dollar--Where It Goes
[[Page 11]]
Medicaid provides health care services to over 36 million Americans,
including the poor, people with disabilities, and senior citizens in
nursing homes. Unlike Medicare, the Federal Government shares the
costs of Medicaid with the States, paying between 50 and 83 percent of
the total (depending on each State�s requirements). Federal and State
costs are growing rapidly. Medicaid accounts for six percent of the Federal
budget.
Other means-tested entitlements provide benefits to people and
families with incomes below certain minimum levels that vary from
program to program. The major means-tested entitlements are Food
Stamps and food aid to Puerto Rico, Aid to Families with Dependent
Children, Supplemental Security Income, Child Nutrition, the Earned
Income Tax Credit, and veterans� pensions. This category will account
for an estimated six percent of the budget in 1997.
The remaining entitlements, which mainly consist of Federal retirement
and insurance programs and payments to farmers, comprise six percent
of the budget.
National defense discretionary spending will total an estimated $259
billion in 1997, comprising 16 percent of the budget and 3.3 percent
of GDP.
Non-defense discretionary spending-a wide array of programs that
include education, training, science, technology, housing,
transportation, and foreign aid�has shrunk as a share of the budget
from 23 percent in 1966 to an estimated 17 percent in 1997.
Interest payments, primarily the result of previous budget deficits,
averaged seven percent of Federal spending in the 1960s and 1970s.
But, due to the large budget deficits that began in the 1980s, that
share quickly doubled to 15 percent, where it stands today.
[[Page 12]]
Table 2-2. Spending Summary
(Outlays, in billions of dollars)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 Estimate
Category Actual 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discretionary:
National Defense 274 266 259 256 257 264 267 276
International 20 20 20 19 19 18 18 19
Domestic 252 255 263 264 260 255 264 278
Subtotal, discretionary 546 541 542 539 536 537 548 573
Mandatory:
Programmatic:
Social Security 333 348 365 383 402 421 442 464
Medicare 157 175 187 202 216 228 246 264
Medicaid 89 95 106 111 117 122 129 133
Means-tested entitlements
(except Medicaid) 92 97 104 109 114 121 121 129
Other 114 118 134 138 142 147 147 151
Subtotal, programmatic 786 832 896 943 990 1,040 1,084 1,141
Undistributed offsetting
receipts, -44 -42 -41 -42 -43 -46 -48 -69
Subtotal, mandatory 741 790 855 901 947 955 1,036 1,072
Net interest 232 241 238 236 235 230 227 223
Subtotal, mandatory
and net interest 973 1,031 1,093 1,137 1,181 1,225 1,263 1,295
Total 1,519 1,572 1,635 1,676 1,717 1,761 1,812 1,868
Note: Numbers may not add to the totals due to rounding.
[[Page 13]]
Table 2-3. Spending by Function
(Outlays, in billions of dollars)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 Estimate
Function Actual 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National defense:
Department of Defense--
Military, 259 254 247 244 246 254 257 265
Other 13 11 11 11 10 9 9 11
Total, National defense 272 266 259 255 256 263 266 275
International affairs 16 15 15 14 14 13 14 15
General science, space,
and technology 17 17 17 17 16 15 15 17
Energy 5 3 2 2 2 1 2 *
Natural resources and
environment 22 22 22 21 21 20 21 22
Agriculture 10 8 8 9 9 8 7 7
Commerce and housing credit -14 -11 6 6 7 7 5 5
Transportation 39 40 39 39 37 35 34 35
Community and regional
development 11 13 12 10 9 8 8 8
Education, training,
employment, and social
services 54 54 54 54 56 57 59 62
Health 115 121 135 141 147 152 156 162
Medicare 160 178 190 205 218 231 248 267
Income security 220 228 237 245 253 264 269 282
Social Security 336 351 368 386 405 424 445 467
Veterans benefits and
services 38 38 40 39 37 37 36 40
Administration of justice 16 19 22 24 25 26 26 25
General government 14 14 15 14 14 14 15 15
Net interest 232 241 238 236 235 230 227 223
Allowances -* -* -* -* -* 5 9
Undistributed offsetting
receipts -44 -42 -41 -42 -43 -46 -48 -69
Total 1,519 1,572 1,635 1,676 1,717 1,761 1,812 1,868
* $500 million or less.
Notes: Spending that is shown as a minus means that receipts exceed outlays.
Numbers may not add to the totals due to rounding.
[[Page 14]]
Table 2-4. Spending by Agency
(Outlays, in billions of dollars)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 Estimate
Function Actual 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legislative Branch 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
The Judiciary 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4
Executive Office of the President * * * * * * * *
Funds Appropriated to the
President 11 10 10 10 10 10 9 10
Agriculture 57 55 56 58 59 59 61 63
Commerce 3 4 4 4 5 6 4 4
Defense-Military 260 254 247 244 246 254 257 265
Defense-Civil 32 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
Education 31 30 30 29 30 31 32 33
Energy 18 15 15 14 13 12 12 12
Health and Human Services 303 327 354 378 397 416 439 465
Housing and Urban Development 29 26 32 33 33 31 30 30
Interior 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Justice 11 13 16 18 19 20 20 19
Labor 32 34 35 36 37 38 40 41
State 5 6 6 5 5 5 5 5
Transportation 39 39 38 38 36 34 33 35
Treasury 349 365 369 370 374 376 377 381
Veterans Affairs 38 38 40 39 37 37 36 40
Environmental Protection Agency 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7
General Services Administration 1 * 1 1 * * * *
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration 13 14 14 14 13 12 12 13
Office of Personnel Management 41 42 45 47 49 51 54 57
Small Business Administration 1 1 * * * * * 1
Social Security Administration 362 377 398 418 438 462 480 506
Other Independent Agencies 2 9 21 20 20 19 19 20
Allowances ... -1 -5 -7 -6 -7 -2 *
Undistributed offsetting
receipts -138 -140 -143 -148 -153 -161 -166 -192
Total 1,519 1,572 1,635 1,676 1,717 1,761 1,812 1,868
* $500 million or less.
Notes: Spending that is shown as a minus means that receipts exceed outlays.
Numbers may not add to the totals due to rounding.
[[Page 15]]
``On'' and ``Off'' Budget
From time to time, you may hear about programs that are
``off-budget,'' meaning that the Government categorizes them
separately from other programs.
Specifically, the law requires that the spending and revenues of two
Federal programs, Social Security and the Postal Service, be excluded
from the budget totals--that is, categorized as ``off-budget.''Therefore, the budget displays ``on-budget,'' ``off-budget,''
and ``unified budget'' totals to satisfy this legal requirement.
The unified budget is the most useful display of the Government's
finances; it is vital in calculating how much the Government has to borrow.
The ``off-budget'' category is designed to give special status to
certain programs. Over the years, the Government has placed numerous
programs ``off-budget,'' then returned them to the unified budget. But
the mere listing of programs as ``off-budget'' does not, by itself,
protect them from the budget process--e.g., Administration and
congressional review, possible cuts, and hiring and procurement rules.
Chart 2-7 illustrates the relationship between on- and off-budget
items, and the unified budget.
Chart 2-7. On- and Off-Budget Deficit Projections
[[Page 17]]
3. How Does the Government Create a Budget?
The President and Congress both play major roles in developing the
Federal budget.
The President's Budget
The law requires that, by the first Monday in February, the President
submit to Congress his proposed Federal budget for the next fiscal
year, which begins October 1.
The White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepares the
budget proposal, after receiving direction from the President and
consulting with his senior advisors and officials from Cabinet
departments and other agencies.
The President's budget--which typically includes a main book and
several accompanying books--covers thousands of pages and provides
reams of details.
This year, President Clinton faced unusual challenges in presenting
his budget. At a time when OMB normally would have prepared that
budget, the President and congressional leaders of both parties were
negotiating a plan to balance the budget over seven years, and
Congress had not finished the necessary spending bills for 1996.
As a result, the President submitted a brief budget document on
February 5 to comply with the legal requirement, and the rest of the
budget books,1 with the traditional amount of back-up details, in
March.
-----------------
1 They are the main budget book, entitled, Budget of the United States
Government--Supplement: Fiscal Year 1997, as well as Analytical
Perspectives, Appendix, Historical Tables, and A Citizen's
Guide to the Federal Budget, which you are now reading.
[[Page 18]]
The Budget Process
Through the budget process, the President and Congress decide how much
to spend and tax in any one fiscal year. More specifically, they
decide how much to spend on each activity, ensure that the Government
spends no more and spends it only for that activity, and report on
that spending at the end of each budget cycle.
The President's budget is his plan for the next year. But it's just a
proposal. After receiving it, Congress has its own budget process to
follow. Only after the Congress passes, and the President signs, the
required spending bills has the Government created its actual budget.
For fiscal 1997-that is, October 1, 1996 to September 30, 1997--the
major steps in the budget process are outlined in Chart 3-1.
Chart 3-1. Major Steps in the Budget Process
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Formulation of the President's budget for fiscal 1997.
Executive Branch agencies develop requests for funds and submit them to
the Office of Management and Budget. The President reviews the requests
and makes the fiscal decisions on what goes in his budget.
February-December 1995
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Budget preparation and transmittal.
The budget documents are prepared and transmitted to the Congress.
December 1995--February/March 1996 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Congressional action on the budget.
The Congress reviews the President's proposed budget, develops its
own budget, and approves spending and revenue bills.
March--September 1996
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The fiscal year begins.
October 1, 1996
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Agency program managers execute the budget provided in law.
October 1, 1996--September 30, 1997
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Data on actual spending and receipts for the completed fiscal year
become available.
October--November 1997
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Due to unusual circumstances, the President submitted the 1997 budget
in two steps--one in February, the other in March.
[[Page 19]]
Action in Congress
Congress first must pass a ``budget resolution''--a framework within
which the Members will make their decisions about spending and taxes.
It includes targets for total spending, total revenues, and the
deficit, and allocations within the spending target for the two types
of spending--discretionary and mandatory--explained below:
Discretionary spending, which accounts for 33 percent of all Federal
spending, is what the President and Congress must decide to spend for
the next year through the 13 annual appropriations bills. It includes
money for such activities as the FBI and the Coast Guard, for housing
and education, for space exploration and highway construction, and for
defense and foreign aid.
Mandatory spending, which accounts for 67 percent of all spending, is
authorized by permanent laws, not by the 13 annual appropriations
bills. It includes entitlements--such as Social Security, Medicare,
veterans' benefits, and Food Stamps--through which individuals receive
benefits because they are eligible based on their age, income, or
other criteria. It also includes interest on the national debt, which
the Government pays to individuals and institutions that hold Treasury
bonds and other Government securities. The President and Congress can
change the law in order to change the spending on entitlements and
other mandatory programs--but they don't have to.
Think of it this way: For discretionary programs, Congress and the
President must act each year to provide spending authority. For mandatory
programs, they may act in order to change the spending that current
laws require.
Currently, the law imposes a limit, or ``cap,'' through 1998 on total
annual discretionary spending. Within the cap, however, the President and Congress can, and often do, change the spending levels from year
to year for the thousands of individual Federal spending programs.
In addition, the law requires that legislation that would raise
mandatory spending or lower revenues--compared to existing law--be
offset by spending cuts or revenue increases. This requirement, called
``pay-as-you- go,'' is designed to prevent new legislation from increasing the deficit.
Once Congress passes the budget resolution, it turns its attention to
passing the 13 annual appropriations bills and, if it chooses,
``authorizing'' bills to change the laws governing mandatory spending and revenues.
[[Page 20]
Congress begins by examining the President's budget in detail. Scores
of committees and subcommittees hold hearings on proposals under their
jurisdiction. The House and Senate Armed Services Authorizing Committees,
and the Defense and Military Construction Subcommittees of
the Appropriations Committees, for instance, hold hearings on the
President's defense plan. If the President's budget proposed changes
in taxes, the House Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committees
would hold hearings. The Budget Director, Cabinet officers, and other
Administration officials work with Congress as it accepts some of the
President's proposals, rejects others, and changes still others.
Congressional rules require that these committees and subcommittees
take actions that reflect the budget resolution.
If you read through the President's budget, the budget resolution, or
the appropriations or authorizing bills that Congress drafts, you will
notice that the Government measures spending in two ways--``budget
authority'' and ``outlays'':
Budget authority (or BA) is what the law authorizes the Federal
Government to spend for certain programs, projects, or activities.
What the Government actually spends in a particular year, however, is
an outlay. To see the difference, consider what happens when the
Government decides to build a space exploration system.
The President and Congress may agree to spend $1 billion for the space
system. Congress appropriates $1 billion in BA. But the system may
take 10 years to build. Thus, the Government may spend $100 million in
outlays in the first year to begin construction and the remaining $900
million over the next nine years as construction continues.
Monitoring the Budget
Once the President and Congress approve spending, the Government
monitors the budget through:
agency program managers and budget officials, including the Inspectors
General, or IGs, who report only to the agency head;
OMB;
congressional committees; and
the General Accounting Office, an auditing arm of Congress.
[[Page 21]]
This oversight is designed to:
ensure that agencies comply with legal limits on spending, and that
they use budget authority only for the purposes intended;
see that programs are operating consistently with legal requirements
and existing policy; and, finally,
ensure that programs are well managed and achieving the intended results.
The Government has paid more attention to good management of late,
through the work of Vice President Gore's National Performance Review
and implementation of the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act.
This law is designed to improve Government programs by using better
measurements of their results in order to evaluate their effectiveness.
[[Page 23]]
4. Deficits and the Debt
You've probably heard a lot about the Federal budget deficit and debt
in recent years, primarily because both exploded in size in the 1980s.
Put simply, a deficit occurs when spending exceeds revenues in
any year--just as a surplus occurs when revenues exceed spending.
Generally, to finance our deficits, the Treasury borrows money. The
debt is the sum total of our deficits, minus our surpluses, over the
years.
The deficit is not a new phenomenon; the Government incurred its first
in 1792, and it generated 68 annual deficits between 1900 and 1995.
Chart 4-1 provides the history of budget surpluses and deficits since 1940.
Chart 4-1. Past and Future Budget Deficits or Surpluses
[[Page 24]]
For most of the Nation's history, deficits were the result of either
wars or recessions. Wars necessitated major increases in military
spending, while recessions reduced Federal tax revenues from
businesses and individuals.
The Government generated deficits during the War of 1812, the
recession of 1837, the Civil War, the depression of the 1890s, and
World War I. Once the war ended or the economy began to grow, the
Government followed its deficits with budget surpluses, with which it
paid down the debt.
Deficits returned in 1931 and remained for the rest of the decade_due
to the Great Depression and the spending associated with President
Roosevelt�s New Deal. Then, World War II forced the Nation to spend
unprecedented amounts on defense and to incur unprecedented deficits.
Since then--with Democratic and Republican Presidents, Democratic and
Republican Congresses--the Government has balanced its books only eight
times, most recently in 1969.
Why have deficits become such a perennial problem for budget
decisionmakers? Because spending has been growing faster than
revenues.
Chart 4-2. Outlays as a Percent of GDP
[[Page 25]]
Revenues have stayed relatively constant, at around 19 percent of GDP,
since the 1960s. In that time, however, outlays have grown from below
18 percent of GDP in 1965 to up to 24 percent in 1983 before falling
to 21 percent today. Much of the spending growth has come in Social
Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest payments (see Chart 4�2).
Nevertheless, the deficits before 1981 paled in comparison to what
followed. That year, the Government cut income tax rates and greatly
increased defense spending, but it did not cut non-defense programs
enough to make up the difference. Also, the recession of the early
1980s reduced Federal revenues, increased Federal outlays for
unemployment insurance and similar programs that are closely tied to
economic conditions, and forced the Government to pay interest on more
national debt at a time when interest rates were high. As a result,
the deficit soared.
Why the Deficit is a Problem
The United States is not alone in struggling with budget deficits. As
Chart 4�3 illustrates, this Nation has an average record when compared
to the recent history of six other major developed economies. (To make
accurate comparisons with the governments of other nations, the U.S.
data include the activities of State and local governments).
If budget deficits occur so frequently, here and abroad, should we
worry about them?
The short answer is, yes. The deficit forces the Government to borrow
money in the private capital markets. That borrowing competes with (1)
borrowing by businesses that want to build factories and machines that
make workers more productive and raise incomes, and (2) borrowing by
families who hope to buy new homes, cars, and other goods. The
competition for funds tends to produce higher interest rates.
Deficits increase the Federal debt and, with it, the Government's
obligation to pay interest. The more it must pay in interest, the less
it has available to spend on education, law enforcement, and other
important services, or the more it must collect in taxes--forever
after. Today, the Government spends 15 percent of its budget to pay
interest.
As shown in Chart 4-4, the Federal interest burden grew substantially
in the 1980s. By 1997, net interest spending will be nearly as much as
the Government will spend on national defense.
In the end, the deficit is a decision about our future. We can provide
a solid foundation for future generations, just as parents try to do
within a family by
[[Page 26]]
limiting the amount of debt that they pass on; or we can generate
large deficits and debt for those who come after us.
Deficits and Debt
If the Government incurs a deficit, it must borrow from the public.
Table 4-1 summarizes the relationship between the budget deficit and
Federal borrowing.
Federal borrowing involves the sale, to the public, of notes and bonds
of varying sizes and time periods. The cumulative amount of borrowing
from the public--i.e., the debt held by the public--is the most
important measure of Federal debt because it is what the Government
has borrowed in the private markets over the years, and it determines
how much the Government pays in interest to the public.
Chart 4-3. Total Government Surplus or Deficit as a Percent of GDP
[[Page 27]]
Table 4-1. Federal Government Financing and Debt
(In billions of dollars)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1995 Estimate
Function Actual 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal Government financing:
Budget deficit (-) or
surplus -164 -146 -140 -98 -64 -28 8 44
Other means of financing -7 -20 -24 -27 -29 -29 -28 -27
-------------------------------------------------
Borrowing from the public 171 165 164 124 93 57 20 -17
Federal Government debt:
Debt held by the public 3,603 3,769 3,933 4,057 4,151 4,207 4,227 4,210
Debt held by government
accounts 1,318 1,439 1,566 1,693 1,828 1,978 2,133 2,297
-------------------------------------------------
Gross Federal debt 4,921 5,207 5,499 5,750 5,979 6,185 6,360 6,506
Debt subject to legal limit 4,885 5,163 5,456 5,711 5,939 6,145 6,321 6,468
Note: Numbers may not add to the totals due to rounding.
Debt held by the public was $3.6 trillion at the end of 1995--roughly
the net effect of deficits and surpluses over the last 200 years. Debt
held by the
[[Page 28]]
public does not include debt the Government owes itself--the total of
all trust fund surpluses and deficits over the years, like the Social
Security surpluses, that the law says must be invested in Federal securities.
The sum of debt held by the public and debt the Government owes itself
is called Gross Federal Debt. At the end of 1995, it totaled $4.9 trillion.
Another measure of Federal debt is debt subject to legal limit, which
is similar to Gross Federal Debt. When the Government reaches the
limit, it loses its authority to borrow more to finance its spending;
then, the President and Congress must enact a law to increase the
limit.
The Government's ability to finance its debt is tied to the size and
strength of the economy, or GDP. Debt held by the public exceeded 50
percent of GDP at the end of 1996. As a share of GDP, debt held by the
public was highest at the end of World War II, at 114 percent, then
fell to 24 percent in 1974 before gradually rising to current levels.
That decline, from 114 to 24 percent, occurred because the economy
grew faster than the debt accumulated; debt held by the public rose
from $242 billion to $344 billion in those years, but the economy grew
faster.
Individuals and institutions in the United States hold over 75 percent
of debt held by the public. The rest is held in foreign countries.
Deficit Reduction Efforts
Ever since the deficit soared in the early 1980s, successive
Presidents and Congresses have tried to cut it. Until recently, they
met with only limited success.
In the early 1980s, President Reagan and Congress agreed on a large
tax cut, but could not agree about cutting spending; the President
wanted to cut domestic spending more than Congress, while Congress
sought fewer defense funds than the President wanted. They wound up
spending more on domestic programs than the President wanted, and more
on defense than Congress wanted. At the same time, a recession led to
more spending to aid those affected by the recession, and reductions
in tax revenues due to lower incomes and corporate profits.
By 1985, both sides were ready for drastic measures. That year, they
enacted the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, better
known as Gramm-Rudman-Hollings (GRH). It set annual deficit targets
for five years, declining to a balanced budget in 1991. If necessary,
GRH required across-the-board cuts in programs to comply with the
deficit targets.
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Faced with the prospect of huge spending cuts in 1987, however, the
President and Congress amended the law, postponing a balanced budget
until 1993. The President and Congress never achieved those revised
targets, in part because of the extraordinary costs of returning the
Nation's savings and loan industry to a sound financial footing.
By 1990, President Bush and Congress enacted spending cuts and tax
increases that were designed to cut the accumulated deficits by about
$500 billion over five years. They also enacted the Budget Enforcement
Act (BEA)�rather than set annual deficit targets, the BEA was designed
to limit discretionary spending while ensuring that any new
entitlement programs or tax cuts did not make the deficit worse.
First, the BEA set annual limits on total discretionary spending for
defense, international affairs, and domestic programs. Second, it
created ``pay-as- you-go'' rules for entitlements and taxes: those who
proposed new spending on entitlements or lower taxes were forced to
offset the costs by cutting other entitlements or raising other taxes.
For what it was designed to do, the law worked. It did, in fact, limit
discretionary spending and force proponents of new entitlements and
tax cuts to find ways to finance them. But the deficit, which
Government and private experts said would fall, actually rose.
Why? Because the recession of the early 1990s reduced individual and
corporate tax revenues and increased spending that is tied to economic
fluctuations. Federal health care spending also continued to grow
rapidly.
In 1993, President Clinton and the Congress made another effort to cut
the deficit. They enacted a five-year deficit reduction package of
spending cuts and higher revenues. The law was designed to cut the
accumulated deficits from 1994 to 1998 by about $500 billion. The new
law extended the limits on discretionary spending and the ``pay-as-you-go'' rules.
Clearly, the President's deficit reduction efforts have paid off. The
deficit fell from $290 billion in 1992 to $164 billion in 1995, and by
over half as a share of GDP, to 2.3 percent. Now, as you will see in
the next chapter, the President wants to finish the job by balancing
the budget over the next seven years.
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5. The President's 1997 Budget
As we have said, the President released his 1997 budget in two steps
this year. On February 5, he released a brief document that outlined
his priorities. Then in March, he released the budget books with the
details that traditionally comprise the annual budget proposal.
The President's 1997 budget would reach balance over the next seven
years by cutting unnecessary and lower priority spending.
The budget would strengthen Medicare and Medicaid; invest in education
and training, the environment, science and technology, and other
priorities; reform welfare; maintain a strong defense; and provide tax
relief to help families raise their children, send them to college,
and save for the future.
Like his earlier budgets, this budget contributes to two of the
President's key goals-strengthening the economy and making Government work.
Reaching Balance
The President's budget saves $593 billion 1 over seven years (after
subtracting the costs of his proposed tax cut). Among its major
elements, the budget:
saves $297 billion in discretionary spending, cutting unnecessary and
lower priority spending but investing in education and training, the
environment, science and technology, law enforcement, and other
priorities that will raise living standards and improve the quality of
American life;
saves $124 billion in Medicare, strengthening and improving the
program and guaranteeing the solvency of its trust fund for over a decade;
saves $59 billion in Medicaid, reforming the program but continuing
the guarantee of meaningful health and long-term care coverage for the
most vulnerable Americans;
------------------
1 Using the last available assumptions of the Congressional Budget
Office.
[[Page 32]]
saves $40 billion through real welfare reform, moving recipients to
work while protecting children;
saves $49 billion by reforming a host of other mandatory programs;
saves $62 billion by ending corporate subsidies and other tax loopholes;
and
cuts taxes by $100 billion, providing tax relief to tens of millions
of middle-income Americans and to small businesses.
Maintaining Our Values
From the start, the President's economic program has emphasized one
primary concern�to raise the standard of living for average Americans
now and in the future. His budget policy has played a central role.
The President's budget plan of 1993, which he enacted with the last
Congress, has cut the budget deficit nearly in half in three
years--from $290 billion in 1992 to $164 billion in 1995. That, in
turn, has cut Federal borrowing, making more funds available in the
private markets so businesses can invest, grow more productive,
expand, and create jobs.
Working with Congress, the President also has shifted Federal
resources to education and training, science and technology, and other
priorities, not only to make businesses more competitive but to give
Americans the skills they need to compete in the new economy.
This budget maintains or expands his investments in these key areas.
In education and training, these investments include the Head Start
program for disadvantaged children; the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities program to create safe learning environments; Goals 2000,
which helps States and school systems extend high academic standards,
better teaching, and better learning to all students; AmeriCorps,
through which 25,000 Americans this year are serving their communities
and earning money for college; Pell grant scholarships for needy
students; and Skill Grants (or job training vouchers) for dislocated
workers and low-income adults.
The budget also protects environmental enforcement through the
Environmental Protection Agency�s operating program; funds programs to
protect national parks and other sensitive resources; and invests in
basic and applied research and technology.
The budget funds the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
initiative to put 100,000 more police on the street by the year 2000;
more
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border patrols to prevent illegal immigration and more inspections to
prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants; and the Community
Development Financial Institutions fund to spur growth and create jobs
in communities that have been left behind.
In addition, the budget includes funds to launch the important
initiatives that the President outlined in his State of the Union address:
for education, it funds a Technology Literacy Challenge to connect
every classroom to the information superhighway by the year 2000;
expanded work-study to help one million students work their way
through college by 2000; a $1,000 merit scholarship for the top five
percent of graduates in every high school; and Charter Schools to let
parents, teachers, and communities create public schools to meet their
own children's needs;
for workers, it funds initiatives to make it easier for small
businesses and farmers to establish their own pension plans; to
encourage these and other employees to establish flexible pension
plans that workers can take with them when they change jobs; and to
help workers who lose their health insurance when they lose their jobs
pay for private insurance coverage for up to six months;
for the environment, it funds tax incentives to encourage companies to
clean up ``brownfields''--abandoned, contaminated industrial properties
in distressed areas; and
for law enforcement, it provides funds with which the FBI and other
law enforcement agencies will launch a war on juvenile crime and gangs
that involve juveniles.
Making Government Work
``The era of big Government is over,'' President Clinton declared in his
State of the Union address in late January 1996. ``But we cannot go
back to the time when our citizens were left to fend for themselves.''
The President has worked hard to create a leaner, but not meaner,
Federal Government, one that works hand-in-hand with States, localities, businesses, and community and civic associations to
manage resources wisely while helping those Americans who cannot help
themselves.
In 1993, the President pledged to cut the Federal workforce by 252,000
full-time equivalent (FTE) positions. A year later, the President and
Congress enacted the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act, requiring cuts of 272,900
[[Page 34]]
FTEs by the end of this decade. (An FTE is not necessarily synonymous
with an employee. One full-time employee counts as one FTE, and two
half-time employees also count as one FTE.)
To date, the Administration has cut the workforce by over 200,000
employees out of 2.2 million in January 1993, giving us the smallest
Federal workforce in 30 years. This corresponds to a reduction of
185,000 FTEs (see Chart 5-1).
While Americans want a smaller Government, they also deserve one that
works better--that treats them as valued customers at Social Security,
veterans', and other offices; that uses their tax dollars wisely; and
that makes a real impact on their lives when it addresses the problems
of crime and poverty and the challenges of work and education.
Chart 5-1. Cuts in Civilian Employment
[[Page 35]]
From the start, the President has stressed the importance of providing
better service to Government's customers--the tens of millions of
Americans who come in contact with it. His efforts are bearing fruit:
Social Security Administration's (SSA) Customer Service Hotline:
Business Week reported in mid-1995 that an independent survey of some
of the Nation's best 1-800 customer services hotlines ranked SSA's
hotline on top, ahead of companies like L.L. Bean, Federal Express,
and Disney. SSA's reputation for solving problems quickly and
courteously earned it the highest overall score.
Customs Service--Streamlining Inspections: In Miami, the airlines and
Federal agencies formed partnerships to overhaul Customs procedures
for international travelers, eliminating three-hour delays and missed
connecting flights. Officials from the Customs Service, the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Agriculture Department
worked with airline officials to reduce waiting times to 45 minutes, on
average.
Veterans Affairs (VA) Department Responding to Customers:
Responding to complaints about long waits to see benefits counselors,
the VA promised veterans that it would cut waiting times to 30 minutes
or less. Having met that promise, the VA has aimed higher; it now
promises veterans no more than a 20-minute wait and is meeting that
goal 90 percent of the time.
Americans want a Government that uses common sense when it makes
decisions that affect their lives. The Administration is answering
their call.
[[Page 37]]
Glossary
Appropriation
An appropriation is an act of Congress that enables Federal agencies
to spend money for specific purposes.
Authorization
An authorization is an act of Congress that establishes or continues a
Federal program or agency, and sets forth the guidelines to which it
must adhere.
Balanced Budget
A balanced budget occurs when total revenues equal total outlays for a
fiscal year.
Budget Authority (BA)
Budget authority is what the law authorizes, or allows, the Federal
Government to spend for programs, projects, or activities.
Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) of 1990
The BEA is the law that was designed to limit discretionary spending
while ensuring that any new entitlement program or tax cuts did not
make the deficit worse. It set annual limits on total discretionary
spending and created ``pay-as-you-go'' rules for any changes in
entitlements and taxes. (See ``pay-as-you-go.'')
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985
(Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, or GRH)
The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 was
designed to end deficit spending. It set annual deficit targets for
five years, declining to a balanced budget in 1991. If necessary, it
required across-the-board cuts in programs to comply with the deficit
targets. It was never fully implemented.
Budget Resolution
The budget resolution is the annual framework within which Congress
makes its decisions about spending and taxes. This framework includes
targets for total spending, total revenues, and the deficit, as well
as allocations, within the spending target, for discretionary and
mandatory spending.
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``Cap''
A ``cap'' is a legal limit on total annual discretionary spending.
Deficit
The deficit is the difference produced when spending exceeds revenues
in a fiscal year.
Discretionary Spending
Discretionary spending is what the President and Congress must decide
to spend for the next fiscal year through 13 annual appropriations
bills. Examples include money for such activities as the FBI and the
Coast Guard, housing and education, space exploration and highway
construction, and defense and foreign aid.
Entitlement
An entitlement is a program that legally obligates the Federal
Government to make payments to any person who meets the legal criteria
for eligibility. Examples include Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Excise Taxes
Excise taxes apply to various products, including alcohol, tobacco,
transportation fuels, and telephone service.
Federal Debt
The gross Federal debt is divided into two categories: debt held by
the public, and debt the Government owes itself. Another category is
debt subject to legal limit.
Debt Held by the Public
Debt held by the public is the total of all Federal deficits, minus
surpluses, over the years. This is the cumulative amount of money the
Federal Government has borrowed from the public, through the sale of
notes and bonds of varying sizes and time periods.
Debt the Government Owes Itself
Debt the Government owes itself is the total of all trust fund
surpluses over the years, like the Social Security surpluses, that the
law says must be invested in Federal securities.
Debt Subject to Legal Limit
Debt subject to legal limit, which is roughly the same as gross
Federal debt, is the maximum amount of Federal securities that may
be legally
[[Page 39]]
outstanding at any time. When the limit is reached, the President and
Congress must enact a law to increase it.
Fiscal Year
The fiscal year is the Government's accounting period. It begins
October 1 and ends on September 30. For example, fiscal 1997 ends
September 30, 1997.
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings
See Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
GDP is the standard measurement of the size of the economy. It is the
total production of goods and services within the United States.
Mandatory Spending
Mandatory spending is authorized by permanent law. An example is
Social Security. The President and Congress can change the law to
change the level of spending on mandatory programs � but they don't have to.
``Off-Budget''
By law, the Government must distinguish ``off-budget'' programs separate
from the budget totals. Social Security and the Postal Service are
``off-budget.''
Outlays
Outlays are the amount of money the Government actually spends in a
given fiscal year.
``Pay-As-You-Go''
Set forth by the BEA, ``pay-as-you-go'' refers to requirements that new
spending proposals on entitlements or tax cuts must be offset by cuts
in other entitlements or by other tax increases, to ensure that the
deficit does not rise. (See BEA.)
Revenue
Revenue is money collected by the Government.
Social Insurance Payroll Taxes
This tax category includes Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes,
unemployment insurance taxes, and Federal employee retirement payments.
[[Page 40]]
Surplus
A surplus is the amount by which revenues exceed outlays.
Trust Funds
Trust funds are Government accounts, set forth by law as trust funds,
for revenues and spending designated for specific purposes.
Unified Federal Budget
The unified budget, the most useful display of the Government's
finances, is the presentation of the Federal budget in which revenues
from all sources and outlays to all activities are consolidated.
[[Page 41]]
List of Charts and Tables
List of Charts
What Is the Budget?
1-1 Government Spending as a Share of GDP, 1995, 2
1-2 Total Government Outlays as a Percent of GDP, 3
Where the Money Comes From--and Where It Goes
2-1 Family Budgeting, 5
2-2 National Budgeting, 6
2-3 The Federal Government Dollar--Where It Comes From, 7
2-4 Composition of Revenues Over the Last 40 Years, 9
2-5 Revenues as a Percent of GDP--Comparison With Other
2-5 Countries, 9
2-6 The Federal Government Dollar--Where It Goes, 10
2-7 On- and Off-Budget Deficit Projections, 15
How Does the Government Create a Budget?
3-1 Major Steps in the Budget Process, 18
Deficits and the Debt
4-1 Past and Future Budget Deficits or Surpluses, 23
4-2 Outlays as a Percent of GDP, 24
4-3 Total Government Surplus or Deficit as a Percent of GDP, 26
4-4 Interest Costs as a Percent of Income Tax Revenues Over
40 Years, 27
The President's 1997 Budget
5-1 Cuts in Civilian Employment, 34
[[Page 42]]
List of Tables
Where the Money Comes From--and Where It Goes
2-1 Revenues by Source--Summary, 8
2-2 Spending Summary, 12
2-3 Spending by Function, 13
2-4 Spending by Agency, 14
Deficits and the Debt
4-1 Federal Government Financing and Debt, 27