86% Of Government Spending Is Now On Autopilot

What if we told you that the vast majority of the federal spending doesn't require annual approval from Congress? Crazy, right? Yet, that's exactly what's going on now.
 
Anyone who's taken a civics class might think that the federal government can only spend what Congress authorizes it to spend each year. But it turns out that the vast majority of spending doesn't require any such approval from lawmakers.

The new report from the Government Accountability Office — a federal auditing agency — shows that of the $3.7 trillion the federal government spent in 2015, $3.2 trillion of it didn't require authorization by Congress that year. In other words, Congress only specifically approved 14% of what the federal government spent that year.

So how is the rest of the money spent? The answer gets a little wonky, but it's critical for the public to understand.

Over the years, Congress has passed laws that allow federal spending without any annual congressional approval. The biggest chunk is for so-called "entitlement programs" like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and welfare. Congress provided these programs with "permanent appropriations." Spending levels are set automatically, based on eligibility rules and benefit amounts.
Most people know about these programs. In 2015, they accounted for $2.6 trillion in spending authority.


https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/federal-spending-budget-deficits/