mandatory spending include interest on the national debt and
Expenditures in the United States federal budget The United States federal budget consists of mandatory expenditures (which include entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security), discretionary spending for defense, Cabinet Departments (e.g., United States Department of Justice) and agencies (e.g., Securities & Exchange Commission), and interest payments on debt.
National debt of the United States The United States government has continuously had a fluctuating public debt since its formation in 1789, except for about a year during 1835â€“1836. To allow comparisons over the years, public debt is often expressed as a ratio to gross domestic product (GDP).