Where Does the Money Go?

Every dollar the federal government spends, broken down by category. Real numbers, pulled live from the U.S. Treasury.

These figures represent federal obligations - money Congress has committed to spend. Obligations become outlays (actual payments) over time. Data sourced from USASpending.gov, updated daily from agency reports.

Key Facts

Interest on the debt exceeded $1 trillion in FY2024 for the first time, surpassing the defense budget.
About 70% of the federal budget is mandatory spending that Congress cannot cut without passing new laws.
Social Security and Medicare together account for roughly 40% of all federal spending.
Veterans benefits have grown faster than any other major budget category over the past decade.
Eliminating all discretionary spending -- including the entire military -- would still leave a deficit.

Data Sources

USASpending.gov
Live budget function data
USASpending API Docs
Technical API documentation
Congressional Budget Office
Budget projections & analysis
OMB Budget Documents
Presidential budget proposals
Treasury Fiscal Data
Official outlay figures

Congressional Budget Process
The National Debt
Legislative Branch Overview
The Constitution