Domestic spending nears 53-year lows. So where do lawmakers, candidates stand?

Lawmakers and candidates often bemoan how high U.S. debt is and how much higher it will go if nothing changes.
But they’ve been focusing almost exclusively on squeezing savings from the smallest part of the federal budget: “discretionary” spending on defense and domestic programs, which fund everything from the military to national parks and museums to food safety to Head Start and research and development.
But that’s not what’s driving long-term debt to unsustainable levels.
In fact, within a decade, defense and domestic spending is on track to fall to its lowest level as a share of GDP since 1962, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Meanwhile, lawmakers and candidates typically dodge dealing with the real debt drivers — “entitlement” spending, which includes the major healthcare programs (Medicare, Medicaid and insurance subsidies) as well as Social Security, and interest on the debt.
Lawmakers and candidates often bemoan how high U.S. debt is and how much higher it will go if nothing changes.
But they’ve been focusing almost exclusively on squeezing savings from the smallest part of the federal budget: “discretionary” spending on defense and domestic programs, which fund everything from the military to national parks and museums to food safety to Head Start and research and development.
But that’s not what’s driving long-term debt to unsustainable levels.
In fact, within a decade, defense and domestic spending is on track to fall to its lowest level as a share of GDP since 1962, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Meanwhile, lawmakers and candidates typically dodge dealing with the real debt drivers — “entitlement” spending, which includes the major healthcare programs (Medicare, Medicaid and insurance subsidies) as well as Social Security, and interest on the debt.
Some of the cuts have been more politically motivated than others. The EPA, which Republicans often accuse of regulatory overreach, is operating with $2 billion less than it had in 2010.
And the IRS — long a political punching bag — is now operating with about $900 million less than it got six years ago.