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      "title": "Trends in Mandatory Spending",
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      "date": "2018-09-14",
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      "title": "Trends in Mandatory Spending: In Brief",
      "summary": "Federal spending is divided into three broad categories: discretionary spending, mandatory spending, and net interest. Those categories are procedural\u2014that is, how Congress provides or has provided spending authority differs among those categories. The Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (BEA; P.L. 101-508) provides a statutory definition for those terms, which are therefore referred to as BEA categories. To a large extent, however, the type of spending differs across those categories. \nDiscretionary spending, by and large, funds operations of federal agencies. Net interest spending is the government\u2019s interest payments on debt held by the public, offset by interest income that the government receives.\nMajor entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid make up the bulk of mandatory spending. Other mandatory spending funds various income support programs, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), unemployment insurance, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as federal employee and military retirement and some veterans\u2019 benefits. In recent decades, mandatory spending has been the largest component of the federal budget.\nWhat Is Mandatory Spending?\nMandatory spending is composed of budget outlays controlled by laws other than appropriations acts, including federal spending on entitlement programs. By contrast, discretionary spending is provided and controlled through appropriations acts. \nMandatory spending typically is provided in permanent or multiyear appropriations contained in an authorizing law. Authorizing legislation establishes or continues the operation of a federal program or agency, either indefinitely or for a specified period. Such funding becomes available automatically each year, without further legislative action by Congress. Some entitlement spending, such as for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly Food Stamps), and certain veterans\u2019 programs, is funded, but not controlled, in annual appropriations acts. Such entitlement spending is referred to as appropriated entitlements.\nMandatory spending tends to rise during economic downturns when incomes of many households fall. That increased spending can help stabilize aggregate demand in the economy, thus promoting macroeconomic stability.",
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      "id": 456071,
      "date": "2016-09-26",
      "retrieved": "2016-11-28T21:31:25.814898",
      "title": "Trends in Mandatory Spending: In Brief",
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    "Economic Policy",
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