Mandatory spending in the US federal budget in 2013 totaled $2.0 trillion, or 12.2% of GDP. The largest portions were $861 billion on major health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid, $808 billion on Social Security, and $340 billion on income security programs. Mandatory spending has increased as a percentage of GDP from 10.6% in 1993 due to growth in major health care programs and income security programs.

1. The
FEDERAL
BUDGET
IN 2013 A Closer Look at Mandatory Spending
Primarily benefit programs for which laws set eligibility rules and benefit formulas
Mandatory Spending in 2013
Billions of dollars
Mandatory Spending at a Glance
Mandatory Spending in 1993 and 2013
Percentage of gross domestic product
REVENUES, $2.8 Trillion
SPENDING, $3.5 Trillion
Mandatory
$2.0 Trillion
Discretionary
$1.2 Trillion
Net Interest
$0.2 Trillion
FISCALYEAR2013
-200-400 0 200 400 600 800 1,000
Major Health Care
Programs
$861 Billion
Social Security
$808 Billion
Income Security Programs
$340 Billion
Federal Civilian and
Military Retirement
$153 Billion
Veterans’ Benefits
$80 Billion
Other Programs
$95 Billion
Offsetting Receipts
−$305 Billion
Medicare
$265 $10
Medicaid Other
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
$668 $140
$69$83$84
$92 $54
$66 $14
$7
$53 $52
Disability Insurance
Unemployment
Compensation
Supplemental
Nutrition
Assistance Program
Earned Income,
Child, and
Other Tax Credits
Supplemental Security Income
Other
Civilian Military Other
Income
Security
Other
Funds collected by government agencies from other government accounts
or from the public that are credited as an offset to gross spending.
Offsetting receipts include Medicare premiums, intragovernmental
payments for federal employees’ retirement, and receipts related to natural
resources (such as those from oil and gas exploration and development).
Change
(Percentage points)1993 2013
Prepared by Maureen Costantino and Jonathan Schwabish
Source: Congressional Budget Office, April 2014
Contact: CBO Projections Unit, Budget Analysis Division
For more details, see CBO’s Updated Budget Projections: 2014 to 2024
(April 2014), http://go.usa.gov/k2TA.
All data are for federal fiscal years,
which run from October 1 to September 30.
Numbers may not add up to totals because of rounding.
$585
Other
Medicaid
Medicare
Major Health Care Programs 2.0
Disability Insurance
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Social Security
Other
Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Earned Income, Child, and Other Tax Credits
Unemployment Compensation
Income Security Programs
Federal Civilian and Military Retirement
Veterans’ Benefits
Other Programs
Offsetting Receipts
0.1
0.5
1.4
0.3
0.1
0.4
−0.1
0.0
0.1
−0.1
0.4
0.3
−0.1
0.2
0.4
−0.9
−2 0 2 4 6
−2 0 2 4 6
$2.0 Trillion $861 Billion
Mandatory spending by
the federal government
in 2013
Spending in 2013 on
major health care programs
(without subtracting offsetting
receipts), the largest
component of mandatory
spending
Average mandatory
spending as a percentage of
gross domestic product
between 1993 and 2012
10.6%12.2%
Mandatory spending
as a percentage of gross
domestic product
in 2013