A term primarily used in the United States, mandatory spending is spending on certain programs that is required by existing law.
In the United States, mandatory spending refers to budget authority and ensuing outlays provided in laws other than appropriations acts, including annually appropriated entitlements. In fiscal year (FY) 2011, mandatory spending accounted for about 60 percent of the federal budget. The two largest mandatory spending programs are Medicare and Social Security, which together account for nearly 40 percent of the federal budget. However, portions of the budgets for several other departments, including the Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Education, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, include some mandatory spending.
Famous quotes containing the words mandatory and/or spending:
“Off south, the bison multiply so fast
a slaughter’s mandatory every spring
and every spring the creeks get fat
and Kicking Horse fills up.”
—Richard Hugo (1923–1982)
“Poor Henry, he’s spending eternity wandering round and round a stately park and the fence is just too high for him to peep over and they’re having tea just too far away for him to hear what the countess is saying.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1966)