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


[[Page 291]]

 
                 30.  UNDISTRIBUTED OFFSETTING RECEIPTS

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                                 Table 30-1.  Undistributed Offsetting Receipts
                                            (In millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Estimate
                 Function                     1999   -----------------------------------------------------------
                                             Actual     2000      2001      2002      2003      2004      2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spending:
  Discretionary Budget Authority..........  ........  ........      -200      -200      -200      -200      -200
  Mandatory Outlays:
    Existing law..........................   -40,445   -43,061   -45,721   -49,084   -47,303   -46,894   -48,608
    Proposed legislation..................  ........  ........       305       299       302       313       317
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   Offsetting receipts, totaling $45.6 billion in 2001, 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 began in 1954, currently generates about 26 percent and 
21 percent of U.S. domestic oil and natural gas production, 
respectively. Since its inception, it has held 129 lease sales, covering 
areas three to 200 miles offshore and generating over $128 billion in 
rents, bonuses, and royalties--mainly for the Treasury Department.
   OCS revenues provide most funding for the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund. The OCS program will generate more than $3.5 billion in receipts 
in 2000. In 2001, the Administration will continue the leasing moratoria 
for environmentally sensitive areas--offshore California, Oregon, and 
Washington; the Eastern Seaboard; the southwestern coastline of Florida, 
including the Everglades; and, certain parts of Alaska.

 Employee Retirement

   In 2001, Federal agencies will pay an estimated $38.2 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \1\ The major programs are the Military Retirement System, the Civil 
Service Retirement System, and the Federal Employee Retirement System.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Other Undistributed Offsetting Receipts

   In 1993, the President and Congress gave the Federal Communications 
Commission authority to assign spectrum licenses through competitive 
bidding, which has proven to be an extremely efficient and effective way 
to allocate this finite 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 
other additional reallocated spectrum--raising an estimated $14.4 
billion over the next eight years, and compensating the public for the 
use of this valuable resource.
