Government Spending and Taxing

A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget answer many questions regarding the federal government's budget.
Creating the Budget:
"How Does the Government Create a Budget?"
  1. By what date must the President present his budget proposal to Congress?

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  2. On what date did Fiscal year 2003 begin? On what date did Fiscal 2003 end?

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  3. What is discretionary spending? What is an example of government’s discretionary spending? What amount of the total government budget is accounted for by discretionary spending?

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  4. What is mandatory spending? What is an example of government’s mandatory spending? What amount of the total government budget is accounted for by mandatory spending?

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  5. What does the "pay-as-you-go" requirement mean?

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Budget Facts:
"Where the Money Comes From and Where It Goes"
  1. How much money was the federal government expected to spend in fiscal year 2003?

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  2. What programs account for the majority of federal government spending? What are the percentage shares for each?

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  3. What dollar amount of tax revenues were expected during fiscal year 2003?

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  4. What are the primary sources of the federal government’s revenue? What are the percentage shares for each?

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  5. What is the projected budget surplus/deficit for fiscal year 2003?

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Last updated November 12, 2003

Send comments to: jbremer@oakton.edu