Where Discretionary Funding Is Headed

We’ve updated the chart below, which originally appeared in this report, to reflect adjustments that we’ve made to the Office of Management and Budget’s historical data to eliminate the effects of timing shifts and other budget anomalies.

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But the basic picture remains the same.  Cuts enacted last year (most notably under the Budget Control Act) will shrink non-defense discretionary funding — domestic programs ranging from education to law enforcement, food safety, and environmental protection, as well as international programs — to its lowest level on record as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), with data going back to 1976.