{ "id": "R46214", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R46214", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 616187, "date": "2020-02-05", "retrieved": "2020-02-07T23:04:15.795841", "title": "Federal Spending on Benefits and Services for People with Low Income: FY2008-FY2018 Update", "summary": "The Congressional Research Service (CRS) regularly receives requests about federal benefits and services targeted to low-income populations. This report is the latest update in a series of CRS reports that attempt to identify and provide information about federal spending targeted to this population. The report series does not discuss social insurance programs such as Social Security, Medicare, or Unemployment Insurance, but includes only programs with an explicit focus on low-income people or communities. Tax provisions, other than the refundable portion of two tax credits, are excluded. Past reports in this series include the following:\nCRS Report R44574, Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income: Overview of Spending Trends, FY2008-FY2015, and \nCRS Report R43863, Federal Benefits and Services for People with Low Income: Programs and Spending, FY2008-FY2013. \nThis current report is intended to provide a brief update of federal spending during FY2008-FY2018 for programs or activities identified in past reports. This report has not been updated to include information on new programs or activities; it simply provides information on the programs or activities that had previously been identified. Over the course of the 11-year period examined, federal spending on people with low income increased by 64% in nominal terms, peaking at nearly $918 billion in FY2018. Increases in recent years were largely driven by spending on health care. \nFederal Spending on Benefits and Services for People with Low Income, FY2008-FY2018\n/\nSource: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) from information contained in federal budget documents for President\u2019s budget submissions, FY2010 through FY2020.\nNotes: ARRA = American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5).\n\nKey findings include the following:\nNo single label best describes all programs with a low-income focus, and no single trait characterizes those who benefit. Programs are highly diverse in their purpose, design, and target population. Readers should use caution in making generalizations about the programs described in this report.\nTotal federal spending on low-income programs in nominal terms rose sharply between FY2008 and FY2009 as the Great Recession took hold. Spending stabilized in FY2011, but it has increased at a fairly steady pace since FY2012 largely due to increases in health care spending.\nThe peak spending year in this window was FY2018, when federal spending on low-income populations totaled $918 billion. This represents a nominal increase of 64% from FY2008.\nHealth care is the single largest category of low-income spending and tends to drive overall trends. In each year, spending on health care has accounted for roughly half of all spending; since FY2015, it has accounted for just over half of all spending. The single largest program within the health category is Medicaid. \nAfter health care, cash aid and food assistance are the next largest categories, with food assistance seeing a 59% nominal increase over the 11-year period. Other categories (in descending size based on FY2018 spending) are housing and development, education, social services, employment and training, and energy assistance.\nMost low-income spending is classified in budgetary terms as mandatory (or direct), which means the amount spent is a function of eligibility and payment rules established in authorizing laws. The amount spent for the remaining discretionary programs is controlled through the annual appropriations process. In some cases, programs receive both mandatory and discretionary funding. In FY2018, 81% of low-income spending was mandatory-only, 15% was discretionary-only, and 4% was spent on programs receiving both mandatory and discretionary funding.\nFour programs accounted for 68% of low-income spending in FY2018 and ten programs made up 82%. Medicaid alone represented 48% of the total. In addition to Medicaid, the top four include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the refundable portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R46214", "sha1": "fff398cf552aebb946776db65155431ba38dc790", "filename": "files/20200205_R46214_fff398cf552aebb946776db65155431ba38dc790.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46214_files&id=/0.png": "files/20200205_R46214_images_c446b6d886db2fa838a3ccd0084543b57464cf30.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46214_files&id=/1.png": "files/20200205_R46214_images_959bc51ebd6ed398e69ec16b40c0aa4111a7e2dd.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46214_files&id=/2.png": "files/20200205_R46214_images_92c085fd786f14a7e8b1edf0aff13d9db6029717.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R46214_files&id=/3.png": "files/20200205_R46214_images_f1b2cd4091cca23f98bd29967aeb35de125c5f81.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R46214", "sha1": "5398f81670a120daa8407e281db2a1b18000064a", "filename": "files/20200205_R46214_5398f81670a120daa8407e281db2a1b18000064a.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4797, "name": "Cash Assistance" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4823, "name": "Social Services" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4890, "name": "Poverty" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Domestic Social Policy" ] }