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.
Taxing and Spending Clause The Taxing and Spending Clause[1] (which contains provisions known as the General Welfare Clause)[2] and the Uniformity Clause,[3] Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, grants the federal government of the United States its power of taxation. While authorizing Congress to levy taxes, this clause permits the levying of taxes for two purposes only: to pay the debts of the United States, and to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States. Taken together, these purposes have traditionally been held to imply and to constitute the federal government's taxing and spending power.[4]