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    $Deficit Bomb
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    Federal Spending

    Where federal dollars go, broken down by major category. Figures are FY2024 reference values from the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget.

    Total Outlays (FY24)

    ~$6.9T

    CBO estimate

    Mandatory Share

    ~63%

    Social Security, health, other

    Net Interest

    $880B

    ~13% of outlays

    Share of Outlays

    Spending by Category

    Federal outlays by category, FY2024. Source: CBO, OMB. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

    Ranked

    Outlays Ranked

    Reading the Data

    What Stands Out

    Three categories — Social Security, the major health programs, and defense — account for the majority of federal outlays. Add net interest, and a large share of the budget is either mandatory entitlement spending or the cost of servicing past borrowing. The portion subject to annual congressional appropriations is smaller than many readers assume, which is why deficit reduction tends to focus on the largest programs and on revenue.

    References

    Sources