[Budget of the United States Government]
[VI. Investing in the Common Good: Program Performance in Federal Functions]
[32. Undistributed Offsetting Receipts]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 
                 32.  UNDISTRIBUTED OFFSETTING RECEIPTS

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                                 Table 32-1.  UNDISTRIBUTED OFFSETTING RECEIPTS
                                            (In millions of dollars)
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                                                                               Estimate
               Function 950                   1998   -----------------------------------------------------------
                                             Actual     1999      2000      2001      2002      2003      2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spending:
  Discretionary Budget Authority..........  ........  ........    -2,800     1,100     1,100      -200      -200
  Mandatory Outlays:
    Existing law..........................   -47,194   -40,028   -42,271   -45,330   -51,278   -45,865   -46,673
    Proposed legislation..................  ........  ........      -585      -787      -898      -971    -1,009
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  Offsetting receipts, totaling $45.7 billion in 2000, fall into two 
categories: (1) the Government's receipts from performing business-like 
activities, such as proceeds from the sale of Outer Continental Shelf 
leases or a Federal asset; and (2) the amounts that the Government 
shifts from one account to another, such as agency payments to 
retirement funds.

Rents and Royalties on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)

  The Interior Department's Outer Continental Shelf Lands leasing 
program, which it began in 1954, currently generates about 20 percent 
and 27 percent of U.S. domestic oil and natural gas production, 
respectively. Since its inception, it has held 126 lease sales, covering 
areas three to 200 miles offshore and generating over $117 billion in 
rents, bonuses, and royalties--mainly for the Treasury.
  OCS revenues help to reduce the deficit, but they also provide most 
funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Historic 
Preservation Fund programs. The OCS program will generate more than $3 
billion in receipts in 1999. In 2000, the Administration will continue 
the leasing moratoria for the environmentally sensitive areas--offshore 
California, Oregon, and Washington; the Eastern Seaboard; the 
southwestern coastline of Florida, including the Everglades; and certain 
parts of Alaska.

Asset Sales

  The United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC): USEC, which began 
operations in July, 1993, sells enriched uranium globally to utilities 
as fuel for nuclear power plants. Congress created USEC as a wholly-
owned Government corporation--the first step in a series of actions 
designed to lead to privatization. On July 28, 1998, the sale of USEC 
common stock in connection with an initial public offering was 
completed, resulting in proceeds to the Government of $1,385 million and 
a payment of an additional $500 million exit dividend.
  Naval Petroleum Reserve 1 (Elk Hills): The Defense Authorization Act 
of 1996 required the sale of Naval Petroleum Reserve 1 in California, 
commonly known as Elk Hills, by February 10, 1998. The sale of Elk Hills 
to Occidental Petroleum for $3.5 billion was completed on February 5, 
1998. This sale was the largest privatization in the history of the U.S. 
Government.
  Alaska Power Administration: The Administration completed the sale of 
the power plants at Anchorage and Juneau to current customers, as 
authorized under a 1995 law. The sale, which raised an estimated $88 mil

[[Page 278]]

lion in Federal revenues, was completed in August 1998.

Employee Retirement

  In 2000, Federal agencies will pay an estimated $37.5 billion on 
behalf of their employees to the Federal retirement funds,\1\ the 
Medicare health insurance trust fund, and the Social Security trust 
funds. As civilian employee pay rises, agencies must make commensurate 
increases in their payments to recognize the rising cost of retirement.
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  \1\ The major programs are the Military retirement System, the Civil 
Service Retirement System, and the Federal Employee Retirement System.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Undistributed Offsetting Receipts

  Beginning in 1993, the President and Congress gave the Federal 
Communications Commission authority to assign spectrum licenses through 
competitive bidding, which has proven an extremely efficient and 
effective way to allocate this scarce public resource. The budget 
reflects the continued policy of assigning licenses by auction, as 
authorized by the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. The Government will auction 
spectrum made available from the transition to digital broadcast 
technology as well as 120 MHZ of reallocated spectrum--raising an 
estimated $21 billion over the next 10 years, and helping to balance the 
budget while compensating the public for the use of this valuable 
resource.