December 2007
Percentage of Gross Domestic Product
Federal Spending
Unless otherwise indicated, the years referred to in this report are calendar years.
Numbers in the text and tables may not add up to totals because of rounding.
The figure on the cover shows federal spending under the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO’s) alternative fiscal scenario, which is described in Chapter 1. That scenario incorporates some changes in policy that are widely expected to occur and that policymakers have regularly made in the past.
Supplementary data underlying CBO’s long-term budget scenarios are posted along with this report at CBO’s Web site.
Preface
This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report continues CBO’s examination of the pressures facing the federal budget over the coming decades. Under current policies, rapidly rising health care costs and an aging population will sharply increase federal spending for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. This report presents the agency’s projections of federal spending and revenues over the next 75 years.
Noah Meyerson and Douglas Hamilton wrote Chapter 1, with contributions from Michael Simpson and Sven Sinclair. Julie Topoleski, with assistance from Lyle Nelson, authored Chapter 2. Ralph Smith wrote Chapter 3, Sam Papenfuss authored Chapter 4, and David Weiner wrote Chapter 5. Robert Arnold, Ed Harris, Andrew Langan, Noah Meyerson, Larry Ozanne, Kevin Perese, Kurt Seibert, Michael Simpson, Sven Sinclair, Julie Topoleski, and David Weiner produced the simulations. Many others at CBO provided helpful comments and assistance.
Christine Bogusz and Leah Mazade edited and proofread the report. Maureen Costantino prepared it for publication and designed the cover. Lenny Skutnik printed the initial copies, Linda Schimmel handled the print distribution, and Simone Thomas prepared the electronic version for CBO’s Web site.
