Federal Spending by Agency and Budget Function, FY2001-FY2005

Publication Date: January 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

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Abstract:

This report provides federal spending data by agency and by budget function for fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2005. The data, ranked by size, reveal the concentrated nature of federal spending. The largest four agencies (of 51 listed) produce 83% of total outlays and the six largest (of 19) budget functions produce 86% of total outlays. Most of the spending by the largest agencies and within the largest budget functions is either mandatory spending (such as Social Security, Medicaid, and income support, among others), defense spending, or net interest spending on federal debt.

Over the five years of data in this report, very little movement has occurred in the order of agencies or budget functions, especially among the largest ones. Among the larger categories of spending, net interest fell as a share of total spending and in dollars because of lower interest rates and slow growth in federal debt early in the period (although it began growing again in 2005). Defense spending grew as money was added for the war on terror.

The concentration of federal spending in broadly popular or necessary activities makes congressional efforts to find and implement large spending reductions difficult. Without a substantial reordering of the public's priorities as reflected in the government's allocation of resources, most spending reduction efforts seem destined to remain relatively small and, thus, are likely to have a limited effect on overall federal spending.

This report will be updated as new budget data become available.