Spending for Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income, FY2008-FY2011: An Update of Table B-1 from CRS Report R41625, Modified to Remove Programs for Veterans

Spending for Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income, FY2008-FY2011: An Update of Table B-1 from CRS Report R41625, Modified to Remove Programs for Veterans

MEMORANDUM
October 16, 2012
To:
Senate Budget Committee
Attention:

From:

Subject:
Spending for Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income, FY2008-
FY2011: An Update of Table B-1 from CRS Report R41625, Modified to Remove
Programs for Veterans

This memorandum provides information on federal spending for programs explicitly intended for people
with low or limited income. The memorandum primarily includes a detailed table (Table 2) that shows
federal spending for these programs in each of FY2008 through FY2011, with spending under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L. 111-5) identified separately. The table is
an update of Table B-1 in CRS Report R41625, Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low
Income: Programs, Policy, and Spending. Readers are referred to that report for important context and
descriptions of the included programs and their categories (e.g., health, cash aid, food assistance, etc.).
That report also includes a methodology appendix, a version of which appears at the end of this memo.
As you specifically requested, programs for veterans have been removed from the table in this memo.
Table B-1 in the CRS report referenced above included means-tested health care for veterans without
service-connected disabilities (Priority Group 5) and the means-tested veterans pension program.
As the memorandum shows, federal spending for low-income programs – not including the two veterans
programs mentioned above – grew by 23% from FY2008 ($563 billion) to FY2009 ($692 billion).
FY2009 also was the first year of ARRA funding, which accounted for at least 65% of the increase in
spending for these programs from FY2008 to FY2009.1 Some portion of the non-ARRA-related spending
growth in FY2009 was attributable to increased caseloads for recession-sensitive programs such as
Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps).
The memorandum further shows that federal spending for low-income programs grew at much slower
rates in FY2010 and FY2011. Without the two veterans programs, spending totaled $733 billion and $746
billion in those years, respectively, increasing by 6% between FY2009 and FY2010 and by 2% between
FY2010 and FY2011. ARRA was a declining but still significant source of the increased spending in these

1 Readers should note that ARRA spending is actually understated in this memorandum. ARRA included provisions that
expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit, but the increased spending for these two programs
attributable to the ARRA provisions is not shown separately.
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov

Congressional Research Service
2

two years, representing at least 58% of the increase between FY2010 and FY2009 pre-ARRA levels, and
at least 45% of the increase between FY2011 and FY2010 pre-ARRA levels.
This memorandum does not attempt to quantify nonfederal spending related to federal programs for
limited-income populations. However, a significant amount of such spending occurs. Many low-income
programs have provisions that require states or other grantees to match federal funds with a specified
amount of nonfederal resources (“matching” requirements), or require grantees to maintain the same level
of their own spending that occurred in a previous year (“maintenance-of-effort” provisions), or prohibit
grantees from substituting federal funds for nonfederal funds that would have been available otherwise
(“supplement, not supplant” provisions). Prominent examples of such programs include Medicaid (a
federal-state matching program), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant
(which has a maintenance-of-effort requirement), and Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (which prohibits supplantation of nonfederal funds).
Table 1 provides a summary of federal low-income spending for each of the four years, broken down by
category. The table shows the largest category of spending – health – was 37% higher in FY2011 than in
FY2008, primarily due to increased spending for Medicaid. Cash aid is the second largest category and
was 12% higher in FY2011 than in FY2008, while spending for the third largest category – food
assistance – was 71% greater in FY2011 than in FY2008, largely due to growth in SNAP. Education was
57% higher in FY2011, almost exclusively due to growth in Pell grants. Housing and development (which
was similar in size to education in FY2008) was only 2% greater in FY2011 than in FY2008, although
this category saw significant growth in FY2009 before declining in the next two years. Social services
spending in FY2011 was 3% higher than in FY2008; spending for employment and training was the same
in each of the two years (although it rose in the intervening years); and the smallest category – energy
assistance – was 67% higher in FY2011 than in FY2008. Energy assistance was also the most volatile
over the period, more than tripling between FY2008 and FY2009, from $3 million to $10 million, and
then declining to $6 million in FY2010 and $5 million in FY2011.
Table 1. Federal Spending by Major Category on Benefits and Services for People with Low
Income (excluding programs for veterans), FY2008-FY2011, including ARRA
(nominal dollars in billions)
FY2009
FY2010
FY2011
Category
FY2008
FY2009
ARRA
FY2010
ARRA
FY2011
ARRA
Health
248
308
(35)
335
(41)
339
(26)
Cash Aid
130
125
(*)
141
(2)
145
(0)
Food
59
78
(5)
94
(11)
101
(12)
Assistance
Education
42
58
(19)
58
(8)
66
(0)
Housing &
40
60
(14)
52
(6)
46
(*)
Development
Social Services
36
44
(4)
40
(4)
37
(0)
Employment &
6
9
(2)
8
(1)
6
(0)
Training
Energy
3
10
(5)
6
(*)
5
(0)
Assistance
TOTAL
563
692
(84)
733
(72)
746
(38)

Congressional Research Service
3

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) from obligations data contained in the U.S. Budget
Appendix for each of FY2010 through FY2013. Amounts may not total due to rounding.
Notes: * indicates amounts that round to less than $1 billion. ARRA = American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, P.L.
111-5. Amounts shown for ARRA spending in selected fiscal years are included in the totals shown for each of those years.
The FY2008 amount for cash aid includes an unspecified amount for a one-time $300-per-child tax rebate, authorized
under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-185), which was not targeted on low-income families. ARRA spending
for cash aid is understated because disaggregated EITC and ACTC spending due to temporary program expansions
enacted in ARRA is not available; these amounts are included in the totals for cash aid, but not in the ARRA columns. As
requested, the table does not include spending for means-tested health care for veterans (Priority Group 5) or the means-
tested veterans pension program; these programs would have increased spending in the health and cash aid categories.
As noted earlier, Table 2 is an update of Table B-1 in CRS Report R41625, modified to remove the two
veterans programs. The original table shows spending for individual programs in FY2008 and FY2009;
this memorandum updates that table through FY2010 and FY2011. In a few cases, the amounts shown for
FY2008 and FY2009 have been revised based on newer data. In the future, CRS may complete a full
update of Report R41625, in which case data and methodologies might change. An explanation of the
methodology follows Table 2. It has been adapted from the methodology appendix of the original CRS
report.

Table 2. Spending for Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income, by Program (excluding programs for
veterans): FY2008-FY2011, including ARRA
(new obligations, unless otherwise noted; nominal dollars in millions)
ARRA
ARRA
ARRA
Federal
FY2008
FY2009
(included in
FY2010
(included in
FY2011
(included in
Program
Agency
FY2009)
FY2010)
FY2011)
Health Care
Family Planning
HHS
300
307
316
298

Consolidated Health
HHS
2,021
3,665
1,519
3,049
908
3,295
74
Centers
Transitional Cash and
HHS
296a
282a
353a

353a

Medical Services for
Refugees
State Children’s Health
HHS
6,360
9,534
10,717

8,740

Insurance Program
(CHIP)
Voluntary Medicare
HHS
17,400b
20,300b
20,900b

22,300b

Prescription Drug
Benefit—Low-Income
Subsidy
Medicaid
HHS
214,015
265,058
32,888
290,461
39,670
295,836
26,181c
Ryan White HIV/AIDS
HHS
2,141
2,227
2,286
2,310
Program
Breast/Cervical Cancer
HHS
201a
206a
169a
164a
Early Detection
Maternal and Child Health HHS
666
662
661
656
Block Grant
Indian Health Service
HHS
4,347
5,416
294
5,668
5,544
Health Care, subtotal

247,747
307,657
34,701
334,580
40,578
339,496
26,255c
CRS-4

ARRA
ARRA
ARRA
Federal
FY2008
FY2009
(included in
FY2010
(included in
FY2011
(included in
Program
Agency
FY2009)
FY2010)
FY2011)
Cash Aid
Temporary Assistance for
HHS
6,356d
6,341d
378d
9,118d
1,995d
6,594d
Needy Families (TANF)
(cash aid)
Supplemental Security
SSA
48,926
52,446
54,463
59,854
Income
Additional Child Tax
IRS
34,019f
24,284
22,659
22,691
Credite
Earned Income Tax
IRS
40,600
42,418
54,712
55,652
Credit (refundable
component)g
Cash Aid, subtotal

129,901
125,489
378
140,952
1,995
144,791
Food Assistance
Supplemental Nutrition
USDA
37,179
53,396
4,478
68,192
10,764
74,943
11,896
Assistance Program
(SNAP)
School Breakfast Program
USDA
2,307
2,513

2,811
2,987
(free/reduced price
components)
National School Lunch
USDA
7,863
8,498

9,462
9,831
Program (free/reduced
price components)
Special Supplemental
USDA
6,400
7,028
72
7,245
64
7,300
Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants and
Children (WIC)
Child and Adult Care
USDA
2,029
2,217
2,358
2,499
Food Program (lower-
income components)
Summer Food Service
USDA
312
356
374
377
Program
Commodity Supplemental
USDA
141
165

183

196
CRS-5

ARRA
ARRA
ARRA
Federal
FY2008
FY2009
(included in
FY2010
(included in
FY2011
(included in
Program
Agency
FY2009)
FY2010)
FY2011)
Food Program
Nutrition Assistance for
USDA
1,623
2,000
240
2,000
254
2,001
Puerto Rico
The Emergency Food
USDA
240
425
125
359
55
298
Assistance Program
(TEFAP)
Nutrition Program for the
HHS
756
905
97
845

848
Elderly
Food Assistance, subtotal

58,850
77,503
5,012
93,829
11,137
101,280
11,896
Education
Indian Education
DOI
684
699
784
753
Adult Basic Education
ED
555
572
628
596
Grants to States
Federal Supplemental
ED
759
760
759
740
Educational Opportunity
Grant
Education for the
ED
13,352
21,495
9,936
14,526
64
14,472
Disadvantaged—Grants
to Local Educational
Agencies (Title I-A)
Title I Migrant Education
ED
380a
395a
395a
394a
Program
Higher Education—
ED
755
801
764
833
Institutional Aid and
Developing Institutions
Federal Work-Study
ED
989
1,156
200
995
986
Federal TRIO Programs
ED
885
905
910
883
Federal Pell Grants
ED
18,000
26,019
8,497
32,905
7,786
41,458
Education for Homeless
ED
h
135
70
h
h
Children and Youth
CRS-6

ARRA
ARRA
ARRA
Federal
FY2008
FY2009
(included in
FY2010
(included in
FY2011
(included in
Program
Agency
FY2009)
FY2010)
FY2011)
21st Century Community
ED
1,082
1,127

1,166
1,157
Learning Centers
Gaining Early Awareness
ED
303
313

323
303
and Readiness for
Undergraduate Programs
(GEAR-UP)
Reading First and Early
ED
560
129

0
0
Reading First
Rural Education
ED
172
174

175
175
Achievement Program
Mathematics and Science
ED
182
176

180
179
Partnerships
Improving Teacher
ED
2,946
2,687

2,955
2,460
Quality State Grants
Academic
ED
297
690

918
350
Competitiveness and
Smart Grant Program
Education, subtotal

41,901
58,233
18,703
58,383
7,850
65,739
Housing and Development
Single-Family Rural
USDA
235i
331i
506i
121i
Housing Loans
Rural Rental Assistance
USDA
479
902
979
954
Program
Water and Waste
USDA
685
1,370
631
1,443
556
648
Disposal for Rural
Communities
Public Works and
DOC
170
285
147
149

115
Economic Development
Supportive Housing for
HUD
778
800

580

509
the Elderly
Supportive Housing for
HUD
256
284

216

149
CRS-7

ARRA
ARRA
ARRA
Federal
FY2008
FY2009
(included in
FY2010
(included in
FY2011
(included in
Program
Agency
FY2009)
FY2010)
FY2011)
Persons with Disabilities
Section 8 Project-Based
HUD
7,004
9,391
1,991
8,991
19
9,444
Rental Assistance
Community Development
HUD
3,645
4,733
965
3,956
18
3,341
Block Grants
Homeless Assistance
HUD
1,538
2,861
1,485
1,813
7
1,888
Grants
Home Investment
HUD
1,647
1,911

1,857

1,495
Partnerships Program
(HOME)
Housing Opportunities
HUD
310
318

314

352
for Persons with AIDS
(HOPWA)
Public Housing
HUD
6,894
10,843
3,977
7,360

6,999
Indian Housing Block
HUD
556
1,149
500
762
6
663
3
Grants
Section 8 Housing Choice
HUD
15,552
16,289

18,071

18,510

Vouchers
Neighborhood
HUD
j
3,920

1,980
1,980
969

Stabilization Program-1
Grants to States for Low-
Treasury
j
2,465
2,465
3,083
3,083
160

Income Housing in Lieu of
Low-Income Housing
Credit Allocations
Tax Credit Assistance
HUD
j
2,250
2,250
0

0

Program
Housing and Development,

39,749
60,102
14,411
52,060
5,669
46,317
3
subtotal
CRS-8

ARRA
ARRA
ARRA
Federal
FY2008
FY2009
(included in
FY2010
(included in
FY2011
(included in
Program
Agency
FY2009)
FY2010)
FY2011)
Social Services
Indian Human Services
DOI
118
115
118

115
Older Americans Act
HHS
351
361
368

369
Grants for Supportive
Services and Senior
Centers
Older Americans Act
HHS
153
154
154

154
Family Caregiver Program
Temporary Assistance for
HHS
9,416k
10,594k
232k
9,837k
2,120k
8,828k
Needy Families (TANF)
(social services)
Child Support
HHS
4,585
4,719

5,044

4,671
Enforcement
Community Services
HHS
654
1,692
992
708
8
678
Block Grant
Child Care and
HHS
4,979
7,034
1,990
5,083
10
5,152
Development Fund
Head Start
HHS
6,877
9,077
578
8,757
1,523
7,559
Developmental
HHS
111
114

116

116
Disabilities Support and
Advocacy Grants
Foster Care
HHS
4,525
4,705

4,603

4,456
Adoption Assistance
HHS
2,038
2,324

2,438

2,362
Social Services Block
HHS
1,700
2,300

1,700

1,700
Grant
Chafee Foster Care
HHS
140
140

140

140
Independence Program
Emergency Food and
FEMA
153
300
100
200

121
Shelter Program
CRS-9

ARRA
ARRA
ARRA
Federal
FY2008
FY2009
(included in
FY2010
(included in
FY2011
(included in
Program
Agency
FY2009)
FY2010)
FY2011)
Legal Services
LSC
351
392

422

406
Corporation
Social Services, subtotal

36,151
44,021
3,892
39,688
3,661
36,827
Employment and Training
Supplemental Nutrition
USDA
351
367
344
354
Assistance Program
(SNAP) (employment and
training component)
Community Service
HHS
504
708
820
454
Employment for Older
Americans
Workforce Investment
DOL
827
1,357
495
862
766
Act (WIA) Adult
Activities
Workforce Investment
DOL
984
2,218
1,182
994
946
Act (WIA) Youth
Activities
Social Services and
HHS
203a
203a

203a
202a
Targeted Assistance for
Refugees
Temporary Assistance for
HHS
1,697l
1,826l
6l
2,682l
587l
1,845l
Needy Families (TANF)
(employment and training)
Foster Grandparents
CNCS
109a
109a

111a

111a
Job Corps
DOL
1,558
1,804
148
1,713
102
1,777
Employment and Training,

6,233
8,592
1,831
7,729
689
6,455
subtotal
Energy Assistance
Weatherization
DOE
291
5,240
4,748
517
228
234
Assistance Program
CRS-10

ARRA
ARRA
ARRA
Federal
FY2008
FY2009
(included in
FY2010
(included in
FY2011
(included in
Program
Agency
FY2009)
FY2010)
FY2011)
Low-Income Home
HHS
2,590
5,100

5,100

4,701
Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP)
Energy Assistance, subtotal

2,881
10,340
4,748
5,617
228
4,935
TOTAL

$563,413
$691,937
$83,676
$732,838
$71,807
$745,840
$38,154c
Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service from obligations data contained in the U.S. Budget Appendix for FY2010, FY2011, FY2012, and FY2013, unless
otherwise noted. This table is an updated version of Table B-1 in CRS Report R41625, Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income: Programs, Policy, and Spending,
FY2008-FY2009, modified to remove means-tested health care for veterans (Priority Group 5) and the means-tested veterans pension program. Readers are referred to
that report for important context and program descriptions. An updated version of the methodology appendix of that report is included in this memorandum. In the future,
CRS may complete a full update of Report R41625, in which case data and methodologies might change.
Notes: HHS = Department of Health and Human Services. SSA = Social Security Administration. IRS = Internal Revenue Service. USDA = Department of Agriculture.
DOC = Department of Commerce. HUD = Department of Housing and Urban Development. Treasury = Department of the Treasury. DOI = Department of the Interior.
ED = Department of Education. FEMA = Federal Emergency Management Agency. LSC = Legal Services Corporation. DOE = Department of Energy. DOL = Department of
Labor. CNCS = Corporation for National and Community Service.
a. Appropriations.
b. Aggregate reimbursements for calendar year.
c. Includes Medicaid spending at the enhanced matching rate authorized by ARRA through December 2010, and continued at a phased-down level for January-June 2011
under P.L. 111-226.
d. Estimated obligations for cash aid and administration under TANF, based on state reporting of actual expenditures.
e. Amounts shown for ACTC include spending due to program expansions enacted in ARRA; however, disaggregated amounts specifically due to these provisions are not
available.
f.
Includes an unspecified amount for a one-time $300-per-child tax rebate that was not targeted on low-income families.
g. Amounts shown for EITC include spending due to program expansions enacted in ARRA; however, disaggregated amounts specifically due to these provisions are not
available.
h. Obligations totaled $64 million for this program in FY2008, which is below the dollar threshold for inclusion in the table. This funding is not included in spending totals.
(See discussion of methodology for explanation of threshold.)
i.
Subsidy outlays, adjusted for net lifetime reestimate amounts, excluding interest.
j.
Program not authorized.
k. Estimated obligations for social services under TANF, based on state reporting of actual expenditures.
l.
Estimated obligations for employment and training activities under TANF, based on state reporting of actual expenditures.
CRS-11

CRS-12

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Methodology
Selection of Programs
Programs were selected for inclusion in CRS Report R41625 if – at the time the report was prepared in
2010-2011 – they (1) had provisions that base an individual’s eligibility or priority for service on a
measure (or proxy) of low or limited income; or (2) target resources in some way (e.g., through allocation
formulas, variable matching rates) using a measure (or proxy) of low or limited income.
A few programs without an explicit low-income provision were included because either their target
population is disproportionately poor or their purpose clearly indicates a presumption that participants
will be low-income. Such programs that serve disproportionately low-income people include the Indian
Health Service, Homeless Assistance Grants, Indian Education, Title I Migrant Education Program, and
Indian Human Services. Programs with purposes that presume a low-income target population include
Adult Basic Education and Social Services Block Grants.
Federal student loan programs were considered for inclusion because they determine benefit levels
through the same need analysis system that is used for Pell Grants and several smaller postsecondary
education programs. However, this system can result in students from relatively well-off families
receiving assistance, as there is no absolute income ceiling on eligibility. Pell Grants are structured in
such a way that the majority of recipients are low-income and the lowest-income students receive the
largest benefits. Student loan programs are not as strongly targeted and therefore, were not included in the
report.
On the other hand, deliberations about whether to include the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC)
reached a different conclusion. The regular Child Tax Credit (CTC) is a nonrefundable credit and phases
out at relatively high income levels. The ACTC is a refundable credit that allows families with no or
insufficient tax liability to get all or part of the benefit they would otherwise receive from the CTC.
Because of the refundable nature and other design features of the ACTC, including certain recently
enacted changes, it serves predominantly low-income families. For example, for tax year 2008, 87% of
returns that claimed the ACTC were filed by families with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) below $40,000
and 83% of the credit went to such families; 94% of returns that claimed the ACTC were filed by families
with AGI below $50,000 and 93% of the credit went to such families.2 Thus, ACTC is included in the
report.
Finally, regarding the selection of programs for this memorandum, please note that – as you requested –
we have deleted the two veterans programs that were included in the original Table B-1 from CRS Report
R41625: means-tested health care for veterans without service-connected disabilities (Priority Group 5
veterans) and the means-tested veterans pension program.
Categorization of Programs
Most programs are easily assigned to broad categories, such as health, cash aid, food assistance, or
education. A few, however, have multiple purposes or allowable activities. For some of those programs,
spending can be disaggregated into the relevant categories. For example, using state reporting of actual

2 Internal Revenue Service, SOI Tax Stats – Individual Income Tax Returns Publication 1304, Table 3.3.

Congressional Research Service
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expenditures, it is possible to estimate the amount of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
obligations attributable to cash aid, social services, and employment and training. Other programs cannot
be disaggregated, however, and must be assigned to a single category. For example, Transitional Cash and
Medical Services for Refugees was categorized as health care, and Indian Human Services was
categorized as social services although it also provides cash and housing assistance.
The social services category, in general, is not well-defined and some analysts might assign some
programs differently. Head Start, for example, could be considered an education program, since its
purpose is to promote school readiness; however, it supports a very broad range of activities—including
activities for children age 0-3 through its Early Head Start component—that can best be characterized
collectively as social services. Foster Care and Adoption Assistance both give cash to families or other
care providers, but income support is not the programs’ purpose or sole use of funding. Foster Care
subsidizes maintenance payments and administrative activities on behalf of children who cannot remain
safely at home, and Adoption Assistance makes payments to facilitate the adoption of children who would
otherwise lack permanent homes. Thus, these programs were categorized as social services and not cash
assistance.
Selection of Spending Measure
New obligations incurred in the indicated fiscal year were chosen as the measure of spending for the
report, although for many programs, readers may be more accustomed to seeing appropriations (budget
authority) or outlays. These spending concepts are related. Congress and the President enact budget
authority through appropriations measures or other authorizing laws. Budget authority in turn allows
federal agencies to incur obligations, through actions such as entering into contracts, employing
personnel, and submitting purchase orders. Outlays represent the actual payment of these obligations,
usually in the form of electronic transfers or checks issued by the Treasury Department.3 Obligations are
used here because they are the most consistent measure available at the necessary level of detail for the
majority of programs. The source of obligations data was the U.S. Budget Appendix for FY2011 (for final
FY2009 obligations) and FY2010 (for final FY2008 obligations). Likewise, for the updated version of
Table B-1, the Budget Appendixes for FY2012 and FY2013 were used (for final FY2010 and FY2011
obligations).
Obligations were either not available or not appropriate for a small number of programs. Because
obligations were not available at the necessary program level, appropriations were used for the following:
Transitional Cash and Medical Services for Refugees, Breast/Cervical Cancer Early Detection, the Title I
Migrant Education Program, Social Services and Targeted Assistance for Refugees, and Foster
Grandparents.
The Budget Appendix does not show obligations solely for the low-income subsidy portion of the
Medicare Part D prescription drug program. Therefore, the table uses aggregate reimbursements for the
low-income subsidy for the calendar year (instead of fiscal year), available from the annual report of the
Medicare trustees.4

3 See CRS Report 98-410, Basic Federal Budgeting Terminology, by Bill Heniff Jr.
4 2012 Annual Report of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary
Medical Insurance Trust Funds, Table IV.B.11.

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Loan subsidy outlays were used as the more appropriate measure of spending for the Section 502 single-
family rural housing loan program. Direct and guaranteed loan subsidy outlays, available from the Budget
Appendix, were adjusted for re-estimates provided in the Federal Credit Supplement to the U.S. Budget
for the relevant years.
Finally, as noted above, TANF obligations provided in the Budget Appendix were disaggregated into the
categories of cash aid, social services, and employment and training, based on states’ reporting to the
Department of Health and Human Services of their actual expenditures.
Spending Threshold
Programs were included in the report if they had obligations in either FY2008 or FY2009 of at least $100
million. To simplify the analysis without significantly changing the overall picture, smaller programs
were excluded, even if they met the low-income criteria. No changes have been made to the list of
programs included in the updated version of the table. Only one program included in the report (and the
updated table) —Education for Homeless Children and Youth—had spending above the threshold in one
year but below the threshold in the others. Therefore, spending totals for FY2009 include obligations for
this program, but spending totals for FY2008, FY2010, and FY2011 do not. Thus, each year’s spending
total is a snapshot of spending in that year for low-income programs which—in that year—had
obligations totaling at least $100 million.