Discretionary Budget Authority by
Subfunction: An Overview
D. Andrew Austin
Analyst in Economic Policy
February 14, 2012
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R41726
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress
Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Summary
President Obama’s FY2013 budget submission was released on February 13, 2012. This report
provides a graphical overview of historical trends in discretionary budget authority (BA) from
FY1976 through FY2011, enacted levels for FY2012 spending, and the levels consistent with the
President’s proposals for FY2013 through FY2017. Spending caps and budget enforcement
mechanisms established in the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25; BCA) will probably
strongly affect the FY2013 budget cycle. The BCA was signed into law on August 2, 2011, after
months of intense negotiations over alternative plans to reduce the deficit and raise the debt limit.
As the 112th Congress considers funding levels for FY2013 and beyond, past spending trends may
prove useful in framing policy discussions. For example, rapid growth in national defense and
other security spending in the past decade has played an important role in fiscal discussions. The
sharp increases in federal spending on education, energy, and other areas funded by the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA; P.L. 111-5) have been noted in recent budget
debates. Since FY2010, however, base defense discretionary spending has been held flat and non-
defense discretionary spending has been reduced significantly. The base defense budget excludes
war funding (Overseas Contingency Operations).
This report may provide a starting point for discussions about spending trends and federal
priorities, but it does not attempt to explain spending patterns in each policy area. Other CRS
products, however, can provide insights into those spending trends in specific functional areas.
Functional categories (e.g., national defense, agriculture, etc.) provide a means to compare federal
funding for activities within broad policy areas that often cut across several federal agencies.
Subfunction categories provide a finer division of funding levels within narrower policy areas.
Budget function categories are used within the budget resolution and for other purposes, such as
possible program cuts and tax expenditures. Three functions, however, are omitted. These are (1)
allowances, which contain items reflecting technical budget adjustments; (2) net interest, which
by its nature is not discretionary spending; and (3) undistributed offsetting receipts, which are
treated for federal budgetary purposes as negative budget authority. Allowances in FY2013
include unspecified cuts to comply with BCA spending caps.
Spending in this report is measured and illustrated in terms of discretionary budget authority as a
percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Measuring spending as a percentage of GDP in
effect controls for inflation and population increases. A flat line on such graphs indicates that
spending in that category is increasing at the same rate as overall economic growth.
Discretionary spending is provided and controlled through appropriations acts, which fund many
of the activities commonly associated with such federal government functions as running
executive branch agencies, congressional offices and agencies, and international operations of the
government. Essentially all spending on federal wages and salaries is discretionary. Program
administration costs for entitlement programs such as Social Security, is generally funded by
discretionary spending, while mandatory spending generally funds the benefits provided through
those programs. Thus, the figures showing trends in discretionary budget authority presented
herein do not reflect the much larger expenditures on program benefits supported by mandatory
spending. For some federal agencies, such as the Departments of Veterans Affairs and
Transportation, the division of expenditures into discretionary and mandatory categories can be
complex. This report will not be updated.
Congressional Research Service
Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Contents
Background on Functional Categories............................................................................................. 6
Discretionary Spending in the FY2013 Budget............................................................................. 10
Historical Spending Trends............................................................................................................ 11
Cold War, Peace Dividend, and the Global War on Terror ...................................................... 12
The Recovery Act .................................................................................................................... 12
Negative Budget Authority...................................................................................................... 13
Figures
Figure 1. Discretionary Defense and Non-Defense Spending, FY1976-FY2017.......................... 10
Figure 2. National Defense (050) Subfunctions ............................................................................ 14
Figure 3. Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services (500) Subfunctions................. 15
Figure 4. Health Care Services (Subfunction 551) and Medicare (Subfunction 571) ................... 16
Figure 5. Smaller Health Subfunctions.......................................................................................... 17
Figure 6. Income Security (600) Subfunctions.............................................................................. 18
Figure 7. Social Security (650) Subfunction.................................................................................. 19
Figure 8. Veterans Benefits and Services (700) Subfunctions ....................................................... 20
Figure 9. Energy (270) Subfunctions............................................................................................. 21
Figure 10. Natural Resources and Environment (300) Subfunctions ............................................ 22
Figure 11. Commerce and Housing Credit Subfunctions .............................................................. 23
Figure 12. Transportation (400) Subfunctions............................................................................... 24
Figure 13. Community and Regional Development (450) Subfunctions....................................... 25
Figure 14. International Affairs (150) Subfunctions...................................................................... 26
Figure 15. General Science, Space, and Technology (250) Subfunctions ..................................... 27
Figure 16. Agriculture (350) Subfunctions .................................................................................... 28
Figure 17. Administration of Justice (750) Subfunctions .............................................................. 29
Figure 18. General Government (800) Subfunctions..................................................................... 30
Tables
Table 1. Budget Function Categories by Superfunction .................................................................. 7
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 30
Congressional Research Service
Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
his report presents figures showing trends in discretionary budget authority as a percentage
of GDP by subfunction within each of 17 budget function categories, using data from
T President Obama’s FY2013 budget submission.1 This report provides a graphical overview
of historical trends in discretionary budget authority from FY1976 through FY2011, enacted
levels for FY2012 spending, and the levels consistent with the President’s proposals for FY2013
through FY2017.2
Discretionary spending is provided and controlled through appropriations acts, which fund many
of the activities commonly associated with such federal government functions as running
executive branch agencies, congressional offices and agencies, and international operations of the
government.3 Discretionary spending in this report is measured in terms of budget authority.
Budget authority for an agency has been compared to having funds in a checking account. Funds
are available, subject to congressional restrictions, and can be used to enter into obligations such
as contracts or hiring personnel. Outlays occur when the U.S. Treasury disburses funds to honor
those obligations. Measuring spending as a percentage of GDP in effect controls for inflation and
population increases. A flat line on such graphs indicates that spending in that category is
increasing at the same rate as overall economic growth.
Discussions about the appropriate levels of spending for various policy objectives of the federal
government have played an important role in congressional deliberations over funding measures
for FY2011 and FY2012, and are expected to play a central role as Congress considers decisions
affecting the FY2013 budget.4 As the 112th Congress considers funding levels for FY2013 and
beyond, past spending trends may prove useful in framing policy discussions. Spending caps and
budget enforcement mechanisms established in the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25;
BCA) will probably strongly affect the FY2013 budget cycle.5 The BCA was signed into law on
August 2, 2011, after months of intense negotiations over alternative plans to reduce the deficit
and raise the debt limit.
For example, rapid growth in national defense and other security spending in the past decade has
played an important role in fiscal discussions. The sharp increases in federal spending on
education, energy, and other areas funded by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA; P.L. 111-5) have also played a significant role in recent budget debates.
Trends in net interest are excluded as federal interest expenditures have been automatically
appropriated since 1847. Allowances, which contain items reflecting technical budget
adjustments, and undistributed offsetting receipts are also excluded. Allowances in FY2013
include unspecified cuts to comply with BCA spending caps.
Figures in this report are based on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Public Budget
Database accompanying the FY2013 budget release.6 Table 5.1 in the Historical Tables volume of
1 The President’s FY2013 budget was released on February 13, 2012, and is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/
omb/budget/.
2 The start of the federal fiscal year was changed from July 1 to October 1 in 1976 to accommodate changes in the
congressional budget process. The figures omit data for the transition quarter (July 1 to September 30, 1976).
3 For a broader analysis of discretionary spending, see CRS Report RL34424, Trends in Discretionary Spending, by D.
Andrew Austin and Mindy R. Levit.
4 CRS Report R41771, FY2011 Appropriations in Budgetary Context, by D. Andrew Austin and Amy Belasco.
5 CRS Report R41965, The Budget Control Act of 2011, by Bill Heniff Jr., Elizabeth Rybicki, and Shannon M. Mahan.
6 Data in the OMB Public Budget Database reconcile to information presented in the Historical Tables volume of the
(continued...)
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
the FY2013 budget reports budget authority by function and subfunction, but does not provide a
breakdown by discretionary and mandatory subcomponents.7
OMB is generally regarded as the official custodian of historical federal budget data. While OMB
has attempted to make these data consistent, changes in government accounting standards and
agency reorganizations, among other changes, may raise difficulties in comparing data from
different fiscal years. In addition, OMB data may not reflect certain zero-balance transfers among
funds, which may play an important role in the funding of some federal programs.
Background on Functional Categories
Functional categories provide a means to compare federal funding for activities within broad
policy areas that often cut across several federal agencies.8 Because various federal agencies may
have closely related or overlapping responsibilities, and because some agencies have
responsibilities in diverse policy areas, budget data divided along functional categories can
provide a useful view of federal activities in support of specific national purposes.
Superfunction categories, which provide a higher level division of federal activities, are
• National defense,
• Human resources,
• Physical resources,
• Other functions,
• Net interest,
• Allowances, and
• Undistributed offsetting receipts.
Superfunction categories for national defense, net interest, allowances, and undistributed
offsetting receipts coincide with function categories.
Budget function categories, grouped by superfunctions, are shown in Table 1. Subfunction
categories provide a finer division of funding levels within narrower policy areas.
Subsequent figures follow the ordering of functions in Table 1.
(...continued)
FY2012 budget. The Public Budget Database itself is available here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
Supplemental. For a further description and important caveats, see the Public Budget Database User Guide, available
at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/db_guide.pdf.
7 Table 5.1 of the OMB Historical Tables is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/
fy2012/assets/hist05z1.xls.
8 For further background on functional categories, see CRS Report 98-280, Functional Categories of the Federal
Budget, by Bill Heniff Jr.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Table 1. Budget Function Categories by Superfunction
Superfunction Code
Function
/
Subfunction
National Defense
50
National defense
51
Dept. of Defense-Military
53
Atomic energy defense activities
54 Defense-related
activities
Human Resources
500
Education, training, employment, and social services
501
Elementary, secondary, and vocational educ.
502 Higher
education
503
Research and general education aids
504
Training and employment
505 Other
labor
services
506 Social
services
550
Health
551
Health care services
552
Health research and training
554
Consumer and occupational health and safety
570
Medicare
571 Medicare
600
Income security
601
Gen. retirement & disability insurance (exc. Soc. Sec.)
602
Federal employee retirement and disability
603 Unemployment
compensation
604 Housing
assistance
605
Food and nutrition assistance
609
Other income security
650
Social security
651 Social
security
700
Veterans benefits and services
701
Income security for veterans
702
Veterans education, training, & rehabilitation
703
Hospital and medical care for veterans
704 Veterans
housing
705
Other veterans benefits and services
Physical Resources
270
Energy
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Superfunction Code
Function
/
Subfunction
271 Energy
supply
272 Energy
conservation
274 Emergency
energy
preparedness
276
Energy information, policy, and regulation
300
Natural resources and environment
301 Water
resources
302
Conservation and land mgmt.
303 Recreational
resources
304
Pollution control and abatement
306 Other
natural
resources
370
Commerce and housing credit
371 Mortgage
credit
372 Postal
service
373 Deposit
insurance
376
Other advancement of commerce
400
Transportation
401 Ground
transportation
402 Air
transportation
403 Water
transportation
407 Other
transportation
450
Community and regional development
451 Community
dev.
452
Area and regional dev.
453
Disaster relief and insurance
Other Functions
150
International affairs
151
Intl. dev. and humanitarian assistance
152
Intl. security assistance
153
Conduct of foreign affairs
154
Foreign information & exchange activities
155
Intl. financial programs
250
General science, space, and technology
251
General science and basic research
252
Space flight, research & supporting activities
350
Agriculture
351
Farm income stabilization
352
Agricultural research and services
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Superfunction Code
Function
/
Subfunction
750
Administration of justice
751
Federal law enforcement activities
752
Federal litigative and judicial activities
753
Federal correctional activities
754
Criminal justice assistance
800
General government
801 Legislative
functions
802
Executive direction and mgmt.
803
Central fiscal operations
804
General property and records mgmt.
805
Central personnel mgmt.
806
General purpose fiscal assistance
808
Other general government
809
Deductions for offsetting receipts
Net Interest
900
Net interest
901
Interest on Treasury debt securities (gross)
902
Interest received by on-budget trust funds
903
Interest received by off-budget trust funds
908 Other
interest
909
Other Investment and income
Allowances
920
Allowances
921
Adjustment for BCA Cap on Security Spending
924
Adjustment for BCA Cap on Non-Security Spending
926
Offset to Medicare SGR Costs
929
Plug for Outyear War Costs
Undistributed Offsetting Receipts
950
Undistributed offsetting receipts
951
Employer share, employee retirement (on-budget)
952
Employer share, employee retirement (off-budget)
953
Rents & royalties on the Outer Continental Shelf
954
Sale of major assets
959
Other undistributed offsetting receipts
Source: CRS, based on OMB data.
Note: Al owances subfunctions may change from year to year.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Discretionary Spending in the FY2013 Budget
Budget debates in recent years have reflected the dual challenge of a weak economy with
persistently high unemployment and output well below its potential level, and longer term
challenges of financing the baby boom generation’s retirement. Discretionary spending in the first
decade of the 21st century rose rapidly, but since FY2010, base defense discretionary spending
has been held flat and non-defense discretionary spending has been reduced significantly.9
Figure 1. Discretionary Defense and Non-Defense Spending, FY1976-FY2017
Budget authority as a percentage of GDP
Source: CRS analysis of OMB data.
Notes: Defense is defined as funding for the National Defense (050) budget function; non-defense is the
remainder. FY1976-FY2011 are historical data; FY2012 is estimated; FY2013-FY2017 reflect the President’s
FY2013 budget proposals. This figure assumes unspecified cuts to meet BCA caps are borne by non-defense
programs. See text for other important caveats.
In the decade FY2000-FY2009, both defense and non-defense spending (new budget authority;
BA) rose rapidly, as shown in Figure 1. In the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001,
defense spending rose sharply after the start of the Afghan war in late 2001 and the Iraq war in
2003.10 Spending on non-defense security spending also rose as the federal government
overhauled airport security procedures, and then established the Department of Homeland
9 The base defense budget excludes war funding (Overseas Contingency Operations).
10 The Afghan and Iraq wars, along with other related activities, are often called the Global War on Terror (GWOT).
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Security. Non-security spending also rose to fund new initiatives in education and in other areas.11
In 2007, a severe credit crunch affected global financial markets, which led to a fully fledged
financial crisis in 2008 and a severe economic recession. The American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA; P.L. 111-5), designed to stimulate the economy and prevent
further slowing of economic activity, sharply increased federal spending on education, energy,
and support for state and local governments. ARRA also included broad tax cuts through a
Making Work Pay credit and other provisions. The decline in federal revenues and the increase in
spending caused the deficit to treble from $459 billion in FY2008 to $1.4 trillion in FY2009.
The BCA, unless modified by Congress, will frame budget discussions in FY2013. Spending
limitations on discretionary spending are slated to make sharp reductions in defense and non-
defense spending in FY2013 and FY2014. In later years, BCA caps would allow for modest
growth in nominal (i.e., not adjusted for inflation) terms. President Obama, in his FY2012 budget,
had proposed extending a three-year freeze in non-security discretionary spending included in his
FY2011 budget submission to five years.12
Discretionary spending, as noted above, is provided and controlled through appropriations acts,
which fund many of the activities commonly associated with such federal government functions
as running executive branch agencies, congressional offices and agencies, and international
operations of the government. Discretionary spending generally funds program administration
costs for entitlement programs such as Social Security, while mandatory spending generally funds
Social Security benefits. Thus, the figures showing trends in discretionary budget authority
presented below do not reflect the much larger expenditures on program benefits supported by
mandatory spending. For some departments, such as Veterans Affairs and Transportation, the
division of expenditures into discretionary and mandatory categories can be complex.
Trends in funding of health subfunctions are shown in two separate figures. Larger programs
(health care services/subfunction 551 and Medicare/function 570/subfunction 571) are shown in
Figure 4, and smaller programs (health research and training/subfunction 552 and consumer and
occupational health and safety/subfunction 554) are shown in Figure 5. Veterans’ health
programs, which fall under the veterans benefits and services function, are also shown in Figure
5 to make comparisons among those programs easier.
Historical Spending Trends
Federal spending trends in functional areas are affected by changing assessments of national
priorities, evolving international challenges, economic conditions, as well as changing social
characteristics and demographics of the U.S. population.
11 The Obama Administration defined security spending in its FY2012 budget as funding for Department of Defense-
Military (subfunction 051); the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration; International
Affairs (function 150, which includes State Department and related agencies); the Department of Homeland Security;
and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The BCA defined security similarly, except that it included all military
activities within the Department of Defense excluding war funding (i.e., defined by department rather than by
subfunction), and also included the Intelligence Community Management Account.
12 For details, see CRS Report R41174, Impact on the Federal Budget of Freezing Non-Security Discretionary
Spending, by Mindy R. Levit.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Some of the trends and events that have had dramatic effects on federal spending are outlined
below. Other CRS products provide background on more specific policy areas.
Cold War, Peace Dividend, and the Global War on Terror
Trends in Figure 2 reflect shifting national security challenges as well as evolving policy
decisions regarding the balance between domestic and defense priorities.
Relations between the United States and its allies on one hand, and the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR) and its allies on the other was the dominant security concern in the half
century following the Second World War. In the early 1970s, U.S. involvement in the Vietnam
War wound down, while the United States and the USSR moved towards detente, permitting a
thaw in cold war relations between the two superpowers and a reduction in defense spending
relative to the size of the economy.13
Following intervention by the USSR in Afghanistan in 1979, military spending increased
sharply.14 Defense spending continued to increase until 1986, as concern shifted to domestic
priorities and the need to reduce large budget deficits. The collapse in 1989 of most of the
Warsaw Pact governments in central and eastern Europe and the 1990-1991 disintegration of the
Soviet Union was followed by a reduction in federal defense spending, allowing a “peace
dividend” that relaxed fiscal pressures. 15
The attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York City and on the Pentagon on
September 11, 2001, were followed by sharp increases in homeland security spending. Defense
spending also increased dramatically with the start of the Afghanistan war in October 2001 and
the Iraq war in March 2003.16 While U.S. commitments in Iraq appear to be winding down, the
demands of returning troops on Department of Veterans Affairs facilities have grown
dramatically.
The Recovery Act
After the financial crisis of 2007-2008 plunged the United States in the deepest economic
recession in decades, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA; P.L. 111-5), often known as the Recovery Act. ARRA includes support for state and local
governments in the form of increased infrastructure, Medicaid, school funding, funding for health
care IT, extended unemployment benefits, as well as tax cuts and rebates among other
provisions.17 According to initial CBO estimates, ARRA provisions were expected to total $787.2
13 For a history of deficit finance and American wars, see Robert D. Hormats, The Price of Liberty, (New York: Times
Books, 2007). Also see CRS Report RL31176, Financing Issues and Economic Effects of American Wars, by Marc
Labonte and Mindy R. Levit.
14 For one view of budgetary politics in the early 1980s, see David Stockman, The Triumph of Politics, (New York:
Harper & Row, 1986).
15 The Warsaw Treaty Organization, established in 1955, included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German
Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union.
16 CRS Report RL33110, The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11, by
Amy Belasco.
17 For more information on the provisions of ARRA, see CRS Report R40537, American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5): Summary and Legislative History, by Clinton T. Brass et al.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
billion in increased spending and reduced taxes over the FY2009-FY2019 period or just over 5%
of GDP in 2008, while a more recent CBO estimate put the total at $814 billion.18
The effects of Recovery Act spending can be seen in Figure 3, where pronounced increases in
education, training, employment, and social services subfunctions can be seen for FY2009.
Smaller increases can be seen in Figure 9, which shows energy subfunctions, and in Figure 10,
which shows natural resources and environment subfunctions.
Negative Budget Authority
Within the federal budget concepts, certain inflows such as offsetting receipts, offsetting
collections, some user fees, and “profits” from federal loan programs, are treated as negative
budget authority.19 The federal government uses a modified form of accrual accounting for loan
and loan guarantee programs since passage of the Federal Credit Reform Act (FCRA) as well as
for certain federal retirement programs.20 OMB calculates net subsidy rates according to FCRA
rules for loan and loan guarantee programs. In some cases, FCRA calculations yield negative net
subsidy levels, implying that the federal government appears to make a profit on those loans.
FCRA subsidy calculations, however, omit risk adjustments.21 The true economic cost of federal
credit guarantees can be substantially underestimated when risk adjustments are omitted.22 CBO
and OMB include risk adjustments in estimates of the costs associated with the TARP as
mandated by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA; P.L. 110-343).23
For example, some Federal Housing Administration mortgage programs have been estimated to
yield negative net subsidies, as shown in Figure 11.
18 For initial estimates, see U.S. Congressional Budget Office, Cost Estimate For the Conference Agreement For H.R.
1, February 13, 2009, available at http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9989/hr1conference.pdf. For a later assessment, see
CBO, Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update, August 2010, Box 1-2, available at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/
117xx/doc11705/08-18-Update.pdf.
19 See OMB, FY2013 Budget, Analytic Perspectives, ch. 12, “Budget Concepts.” In particular, pp. 122-129 cover these
topics.
20 CRS Report RL30346, Federal Credit Reform: Implementation of the Changed Budgetary Treatment of Direct Loans
and Loan Guarantees, by James M. Bickley.
21 While the FCRA calculations include estimates of default costs, they do not discount more volatile income flows, as
a private firm would.
22 U.S. Congressional Budget Office, Estimating the Value of Subsidies for Federal Loans and Loan Guarantees,
August 2004, available at http://cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=5751.
23 U.S. Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2019, January 7, 2009,
pp. 25-26, available at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9957/01-07-Outlook.pdf; Testimony of Elizabeth Warren,
Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel, in Congress, Senate Banking Committee, Pulling Back the TARP:
Oversight of the Financial Rescue Program, hearings, 111th Congress, 1st sess., February 5, 2009, available at
http://banking.senate.gov/public/_files/Warrentestimonyfinal2509.pdf.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 2. National Defense (050) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 3. Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services (500) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 4. Health Care Services (Subfunction 551) and Medicare (Subfunction 571)
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats. Discretionary BA for Medicare funds program administration, and does not general y fund
program benefits. See OMB budget documents for further caveats.
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Figure 5. Smaller Health Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: Hospital and medical care for veterans (703) presented here for comparison, and also appears in Figure
8. FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 6. Income Security (600) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: Discretionary funding for income security programs supports program administration; most income
security benefits are general y funded by mandatory spending, which is not shown here. FY2013-FY2017 levels
reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for further caveats.
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Figure 7. Social Security (650) Subfunction
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: Discretionary funding for Social Security supports program administration; Social Security benefits are
general y funded by mandatory spending, which is not shown here. FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration
proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 8. Veterans Benefits and Services (700) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats. Note that mandatory Veterans Affairs expenditures are not reflected here.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 9. Energy (270) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 10. Natural Resources and Environment (300) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 11. Commerce and Housing Credit Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
0.14
Mortgage credit
Postal service
0.12
Deposit insurance
Other advancement of commerce
0.10
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00
Budget Authority as % of GDP
−0.02
−0.04
−0.06
1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from FY2012 Budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 12. Transportation (400) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from FY2012 Budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 13. Community and Regional Development (450) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
0.65
Community dev.
0.60
Area and regional dev.
0.55
Disaster relief and insurance
0.50
0.45
0.40
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
Budget Authority as % of GDP
0.10
0.05
0.00
−0.05
−0.10
1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from FY2012 Budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 14. International Affairs (150) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 15. General Science, Space, and Technology (250) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 16. Agriculture (350) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 17. Administration of Justice (750) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
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Discretionary Budget Authority by Subfunction: An Overview
Figure 18. General Government (800) Subfunctions
Discretionary budget authority as a percentage of GDP, FY1976-FY2017
Source: CRS, based on OMB data from the FY2013 budget submission.
Notes: FY2013-FY2017 levels reflect Administration proposals and projections. See OMB budget documents for
further caveats.
Author Contact Information
D. Andrew Austin
Analyst in Economic Policy
aaustin@crs.loc.gov, 7-6552
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