Discretionary spending

[1] This spending is an optional part of fiscal policy, in contrast to social programs for which funding is mandatory and determined by the number of eligible recipients.

[2] Some examples of areas funded by discretionary spending are national defense, foreign aid, education and transportation.

[3] After setting discretionary spending levels, both the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee divide the agreed-upon amount of discretionary spending into twelve suballocations for each of their twelve subcommittees.

[4] While these bills are subject to revision as they move through hearings, markups, Floor consideration, and conference, the level of discretionary spending remains constrained by the budget resolution.

[4] Eventually, these twelve bills must be approved by the full Appropriations Committee, followed by both Houses of Congress.

Graph of U.S. mandatory and discretionary spending from 1966 to 2015. Mandatory spending levels start to diverge from discretionary spending levels in the early 1990s.
Comparison of U.S. discretionary spending on defense and nondefense.