[Analytical Perspectives]
[Dimensions of the Budget]
[23. Off-Budget Federal Entities and Non-Budgetary Activities]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]



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      23.  OFF-BUDGET FEDERAL ENTITIES AND NON-BUDGETARY ACTIVITIES

  The Federal Government's activities have far-reaching impacts, 
affecting the economy and society of the Nation and the world. One of 
the primary activities of the Government is to allocate resources to 
meet the Nation's needs. The budget is a financial plan for proposing, 
deciding, and controlling the allocation of resources by the Federal 
Government. Those Federal financial activities that affect the 
Government's allocation of resources in a measurable way are 
characterized as ``budgetary.''
  Those Federal activities that do not involve the Government's direct 
allocation of resources are characterized as ``non-budgetary'' and 
classified outside of the budget. For example, the budget does not 
include funds that are privately owned, such as the deposit funds owned 
by Native American Indians, even though those funds are held and managed 
by the Government in a fiduciary capacity. In addition, the budget does 
not include costs that are borne by the private sector rather than the 
Government even though those costs result from Federal activity, such as 
regulatory activity. Also, the budget includes the subsidy costs of 
Federal loan programs, but excludes other cash flows related to these 
programs because they do not reflect an allocation of resources, as 
explained below. Although non-budgetary, some of these activities are 
important instruments of Federal policy and are discussed in other parts 
of the budget along with relevant financial data; they are also 
discussed further in the section of this chapter on non-budgetary 
activities.
  The term ``off-budget'' may appear to be synonymous with ``non-
budgetary.'' However, the term ``off-budget'' has a meaning distinct 
from ``non-budgetary'' and refers to Federal Government activities that 
are required by law to be excluded from the budget totals. The 
``unified'' budget of the Federal Government reflects this legal 
distinction between ``on-budget'' and ``off-budget'' entities by showing 
outlays and receipts for both types of entities separately. Although 
there is a legal distinction between on-budget and off-budget entities, 
there is no conceptual difference between the two. The off-budget 
Federal entities engage in the same basic activities of government as 
the on-budget entities and off-budget spending channels economic 
resources toward particular uses in the same way as does on-budget 
spending. The unified budget reflects the conceptual similarity between 
on-budget and off-budget entities by showing outlays and receipts for 
both types of entities combined. Off-budget spending and receipts are 
discussed further in the following section on off-budget Federal 
entities.

                       Off-Budget Federal Entities

  The Federal Government has used the unified budget concept as the 
foundation for its budgetary analysis and presentation since the 1969 
Budget. This concept was developed by the President's Commission on 
Budget Concepts in 1967. It calls for the budget to include all the 
Federal Government's programs and all the fiscal transactions of these 
programs with the public.
  Every year since 1971, however, at least one Federal entity that would 
otherwise be included in the budget has been declared to be off-budget 
by law. Such off-budget Federal entities are federally owned and 
controlled, but their transactions are excluded from the on-budget 
totals by law. When a Federal entity is off-budget by law, its receipts, 
outlays, and surplus or deficit are separated from the on-budget 
receipts, outlays, and surplus or deficit; and its budget authority is 
also separated from the total budget authority for the on-budget Federal 
entities. Federal entities that are off-budget by law are distinct from 
entities that are non-budgetary, as discussed below.
  Off-budget Federal entities conduct programs of the same type as on-
budget entities, and the programs they conduct result in the same kind 
of spending and receipts as on-budget entities. For this reason, most of 
the tables in the budget include both on-budget and off-budget amounts 
separately and in combination, or as a total amount.
  The off-budget Federal entities currently consist of the two Social 
Security trust funds, old-age and survivors insurance and disability 
insurance, and the Postal Service fund. Social Security was classified 
off-budget as of 1986 and the Postal Service fund in 1989. A number of 
other entities that had been declared off-budget by law at different 
times before 1986 have been classified on-budget by law since at least 
1985.
  Table 23-1 divides total Federal Government receipts, outlays, and the 
surplus or deficit between on-budget and off-budget amounts. Within this 
table, the Social Security and Postal Service transactions are 
classified as off-budget for all years in order to provide a consistent 
comparison over time. Entities that were off-budget at one time, but are 
now on-budget, are classified as on-budget for all years.
  Because Social Security is off-budget, the off-budget accounts 
comprise a significant part of total Federal spending and receipts. In 
2008, off-budget receipts are an estimated 25 percent of total receipts, 
and off-budget outlays are a smaller, but still significant, percentage 
of total outlays at 16 percent. The estimated unified budget deficit in 
2008 is $239 billion--a $451 billion on-budget deficit partly offset by 
a $212 billion off-budget surplus. The off-budget surplus consists 
almost en

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tirely of the Social Security surplus. Social Security had small 
deficits or surpluses from its inception through the early 1980s, but 
since the middle 1980s it has had a large and growing surplus. However, 
under present law, the surplus is eventually estimated to decline, turn 
into a deficit within approximately ten years and never reach balance 
again. The long-term challenge of Social Security is addressed briefly 
in a chapter of the main Budget volume, ``The Nation's Fiscal Outlook,'' 
and in Chapter 13 of this volume, ``Stewardship.''

                                     

                                      TABLE 23-1.  COMPARISON OF TOTAL, ON-BUDGET, AND OFF-BUDGET TRANSACTIONS \1\
                                                                (In billions of dollars)
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                                                    Receipts                               Outlays                         Surplus or deficit (-)
           Fiscal Year              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Total      On-budget    Off-budget     Total      On-budget    Off-budget     Total      On-budget    Off-budget
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1980...............................        517.1        403.9        113.2        590.9        477.0        113.9        -73.8        -73.1         -0.7
1981...............................        599.3        469.1        130.2        678.2        543.0        135.3        -79.0        -73.9         -5.1
1982...............................        617.8        474.3        143.5        745.7        594.9        150.9       -128.0       -120.6         -7.4
1983...............................        600.6        453.2        147.3        808.4        660.9        147.4       -207.8       -207.7         -0.1
1984...............................        666.5        500.4        166.1        851.9        685.7        166.2       -185.4       -185.3         -0.1
 
1985...............................        734.1        547.9        186.2        946.4        769.4        176.9       -212.3       -221.5          9.2
1986...............................        769.2        569.0        200.2        990.4        806.9        183.5       -221.2       -237.9         16.7
1987...............................        854.4        641.0        213.4      1,004.1        809.3        194.8       -149.7       -168.4         18.6
1988...............................        909.3        667.8        241.5      1,064.5        860.1        204.4       -155.2       -192.3         37.1
1989...............................        991.2        727.5        263.7      1,143.8        932.9        210.9       -152.6       -205.4         52.8
 
1990...............................      1,032.1        750.4        281.7      1,253.1      1,028.1        225.1       -221.0       -277.6         56.6
1991...............................      1,055.1        761.2        293.9      1,324.3      1,082.6        241.7       -269.2       -321.4         52.2
1992...............................      1,091.3        788.9        302.4      1,381.6      1,129.3        252.3       -290.3       -340.4         50.1
1993...............................      1,154.5        842.5        311.9      1,409.5      1,142.9        266.6       -255.1       -300.4         45.3
1994...............................      1,258.7        923.7        335.0      1,461.9      1,182.5        279.4       -203.2       -258.8         55.7
 
1995...............................      1,351.9      1,000.9        351.1      1,515.9      1,227.2        288.7       -164.0       -226.4         62.4
1996...............................      1,453.2      1,085.7        367.5      1,560.6      1,259.7        300.9       -107.4       -174.0         66.6
1997...............................      1,579.4      1,187.4        392.0      1,601.3      1,290.7        310.6        -21.9       -103.2         81.4
1998...............................      1,722.0      1,306.2        415.8      1,652.7      1,336.1        316.6         69.3        -29.9         99.2
1999...............................      1,827.6      1,383.2        444.5      1,702.0      1,381.3        320.8        125.6          1.9        123.7
 
2000...............................      2,025.5      1,544.9        480.6      1,789.2      1,458.5        330.8        236.2         86.4        149.8
2001...............................      1,991.4      1,483.9        507.5      1,863.2      1,516.4        346.8        128.2        -32.4        160.7
2002...............................      1,853.4      1,338.1        515.3      2,011.2      1,655.5        355.7       -157.8       -317.4        159.7
2003...............................      1,782.5      1,258.7        523.8      2,160.1      1,797.1        363.0       -377.6       -538.4        160.8
2004...............................      1,880.3      1,345.5        534.7      2,293.0      1,913.5        379.5       -412.7       -568.0        155.2
 
2005...............................      2,153.9      1,576.4        577.5      2,472.2      2,070.0        402.2       -318.3       -493.6        175.3
2006...............................      2,407.3      1,798.9        608.4      2,655.4      2,233.4        422.1       -248.2       -434.5        186.3
2007 estimate......................      2,540.1      1,906.0        634.1      2,784.3      2,333.0        451.3       -244.2       -427.0        182.8
2008 estimate......................      2,662.5      1,988.4        674.1      2,901.9      2,439.3        462.5       -239.4       -450.9        211.6
2009 estimate......................      2,798.3      2,086.9        711.4      2,985.5      2,499.7        485.8       -187.2       -412.7        225.6
 
2010 estimate......................      2,954.7      2,201.4        753.3      3,049.1      2,540.5        508.6        -94.4       -339.1        244.7
2011 estimate......................      3,103.6      2,307.8        795.8      3,157.3      2,625.8        531.5        -53.8       -318.0        264.3
2012 estimate......................      3,307.3      2,472.0        835.3      3,246.3      2,659.1        587.2         61.0       -187.1        248.1
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\1\ Off-budget transactions consist of the Social Security trust funds and the Postal Service fund.

                        Non-Budgetary Activities

  Some important Federal activities are characterized as non-budgetary 
because they do not involve the allocation of resources by the Federal 
Government or they allocate resources in a way that is indirect. The 
Budget does not reflect these indirect economic and financial effects.

  Federal credit: budgetary and non-budgetary transactions.--Federal 
credit programs make direct loans or guarantee private loans. The 
Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 refined how the costs of credit 
programs are recorded in the budget by defining as budgetary the 
subsidies provided by the credit programs and classifying the other 
credit cash flows as non-budgetary.
  When the Government makes a loan, it generates a financial asset that 
will produce future cash inflows for the Government as the loan is 
repaid. When the Government guarantees a loan made by a non-Federal 
lender, it acquires a contingent liability that may require a cash 
outflow in a future year. Prior to the Credit Reform Act, the budget 
treated the full amount of a Federal loan as a cost and an outlay at the 
time the loan was made, and treated the future repayments of principal 
and interest as receipts. Similarly, the budget did not record the cash 
outflows for loan guarantees as a cost and an outlay until the loan 
defaulted, and the Government had to fulfill its guarantee commitment.

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  Under the Credit Reform Act, beginning in 1992, the budgetary costs of 
direct loans and loan guarantees are measured as the net present value 
of estimated cash outflows from the Government less the present value of 
estimated cash inflows to the Government. The cash flows are discounted 
at the Government's cost of borrowing. The costs are recorded in the 
budget at the time the Government makes a loan or guarantees a loan made 
by a non-Federal lender. A group of loans that is expected to repay 
exactly what it costs the Government to finance would have zero net cost 
and, under the Credit Reform Act, no effect on Government outlays. The 
same is true for a group of non-Federal loans that is guaranteed by the 
Government and for which upfront fees offset the cost of defaults. 
However, if the Government provides a subsidy, by charging below-market 
interest rates or fees that are less than the cost of the defaults, or 
by paying interest subsidies to non-Federal lenders, the Government 
incurs a budgetary cost, which also is measured on a present value 
basis. This cost is similar to the net outlays of other Federal programs 
and, under the Credit Reform Act, is included in the budget as an outlay 
of a credit ``program'' account.
   All of the cash transactions with the public that result from 
Government credit programs--the disbursement and repayment of loans, the 
payment of default claims on guarantees, and the collection of interest 
and fees--are recorded in credit ``financing'' accounts. These financing 
accounts also receive payments from the credit program accounts for the 
costs of direct loans and loan guarantees. The net transactions of the 
financing accounts--i.e., the cash transactions with the public less the 
amounts received from the program accounts--are not costs or outlays to 
the Government. Therefore, the financing accounts are non-budgetary and 
excluded from the budget under the Credit Reform Act. \1\ Transactions 
of the financing accounts do, however, affect the Government's borrowing 
requirements, as explained in Chapter 16 of this volume, ``Federal 
Borrowing and Debt.''
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  \1\ See 505(b) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990.
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   Since credit reform, the budget outlays of credit programs reflect 
only the subsidy costs of Government credit, thus measuring accurately 
the cost of credit decisions, and record this cost when the credit 
assistance is provided. This enables the budget to fulfill its purpose 
of being a financial plan for allocating resources among alternative 
uses by comparing the cost of a program with its benefits, comparing the 
cost of credit programs with the cost of other spending programs, and 
comparing the cost of one type of credit assistance with the cost of 
another type. \2\ Credit programs are discussed in Chapter 7 of this 
volume, ``Credit and Insurance.''
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  \2\ For more explanation of the budget concepts for direct loans and 
loan guarantees, see the sections on Federal credit and credit financing 
accounts in Chapter 26 of this volume, ``The Budget System and 
Concepts.'' The structure of credit reform is further explained in 
Chapter VIII.A of the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal 
Year 1992, Part Two, pp. 223-26. The implementation of credit reform 
through 1995 is reviewed in Chapter 8, ``Underwriting Federal Credit and 
Insurance,'' Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States 
Government, Fiscal Year 1997, pp. 142-44. Refinements and 
simplifications enacted by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 or provided 
by later OMB guidance are explained in Chapter 8, ``Underwriting Federal 
Credit and Insurance,'' Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United 
States Government, Fiscal Year 1999, p. 170.
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  Deposit funds.--Deposit funds are non-budgetary accounts that record 
amounts held by the Government temporarily until ownership is determined 
(such as earnest money paid by bidders for mineral leases) or held by 
the Government as an agent for others (such as State income taxes 
withheld from Federal employees' salaries and not yet paid to the 
States). The largest deposit fund is the Government Securities 
Investment Fund, which is also known as the G Fund. It is one of several 
investment funds managed by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment 
Board, as an agent, for Federal employees who participate in the 
Government's defined contribution retirement plan, the Thrift Savings 
Plan (TSP). Because the G Fund assets, which are held by the Department 
of the Treasury, are the property of Federal employees and are held by 
the Government only in a fiduciary capacity, the transactions of the 
Fund are not transactions of the Government itself and are non-
budgetary. The administrative functions of the Thrift Investment Board 
are carried out by Government employees, and are, therefore, included in 
the budget on a reimbursable basis. For similar reasons, the budget 
excludes funds that are owned by Native American Indians, but held and 
managed by the Government in a fiduciary capacity.
  The Social Security voluntary personal retirement accounts proposed by 
the Administration would be owned by individuals, not the Government. If 
the proposal is adopted, contributions into the accounts will be 
recorded as outlays, but the accounts themselves would be non-budgetary. 
If these accounts were held by the Government, it would be only in a 
fiduciary capacity, and the accounts would be classified as deposit 
funds. Deposit funds are further discussed in a section of Chapter 26 of 
this volume, ``The Budget System and Concepts.''

  Tax expenditures.-- The Federal tax system includes numerous special 
tax exclusions, exemptions, deductions, and similar provisions that have 
been added to the tax code over time. These provisions affect resource 
allocation and income distribution in ways that are similar to spending 
programs. Because of this similarity, these provisions are referred to 
as ``tax expenditures.'' Unlike typical spending programs, however, tax 
expenditures reduce receipts rather than increase outlays. Measuring tax 
expenditures requires specifying a hypothetical ``baseline'' tax system, 
which as noted below can be highly subjective. Because of the 
subjectivity in determining what is a tax expenditure and because of the 
difficulties in measuring them, tax expenditures are treated as non-
budgetary.
  Tax expenditures are discussed in Chapter 19 of this volume, ``Tax 
Expenditures.'' Chapter 19 presents estimates for tax expenditures 
associated with the individual and corporate income taxes, and discusses 
how tax expenditures compare with spending programs and regulation as 
alternative methods for achieving policy

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objectives. The chapter explains that the baseline concepts used to 
identify and measure tax expenditures are somewhat arbitrary. As the 
chapter notes, the magnitude and distribution of tax expenditures would 
be significantly different if measured relative to a comprehensive 
income tax or a comprehensive consumption tax. The current tax 
expenditure baseline is loosely patterned on a comprehensive income tax, 
but departs from that standard in a number of areas. The appendix to 
Chapter 19 provides a critique of the current tax expenditure 
presentation and attempts to answer three questions: (1) what would be 
tax expenditures if a comprehensive income tax were used as the baseline 
without any departures from such a standard; (2) what would be the tax 
expenditures if a comprehensive consumption tax were used to define the 
baseline; and (3) what are the negative tax expenditures under the 
current system. Negative tax expenditures are provisions that cause 
people to pay more tax than they would under a baseline--such as the 
failure to adjust interest, capital gains, and depreciation for 
inflation.
  Hypothetically, tax expenditures could be included in the budget by 
measuring receipts as the sum of actual receipts plus tax expenditures 
receipts, and measuring outlays as the sum of actual outlays plus tax 
expenditures. The budget could then show the allocation of resources to 
education, housing or other purposes through the combined effect of tax 
expenditures and spending programs. Receipts and outlays would be 
increased by the same amount, so this change in display would have no 
impact on the deficit. However, as noted above, the difficulty in 
identifying and measuring tax expenditures makes it impractical to 
include tax expenditures in the budget.

  Government-sponsored enterprises.--The Federal Government chartered 
several Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), such as Fannie Mae, 
Freddie Mac, and the Farm Credit Banks, to provide financial 
intermediation for specified public purposes. The GSEs are excluded from 
the budget because they are privately owned and controlled. However, 
because they were established by the Federal Government for public-
policy purposes and because they still serve such purposes to some 
extent, estimates of their activities are reported in a separate chapter 
of the budget Appendix and their activities are analyzed in Chapter 7 of 
this volume, ``Credit and Insurance.''
  Regulation.--Government regulation often requires the private sector 
to make expenditures for specified purposes, such as safety and 
pollution control. Although the budget reflects the cost to the 
Government of conducting regulatory activities, the costs imposed on the 
private sector as a result of the regulation are treated as non-
budgetary. The Government's regulatory priorities and plans are 
described in the annual Regulatory Plan and the semi-annual Unified 
Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. \3\
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  \3\ The most recent Regulatory Plan and introduction to the Unified 
Agenda were issued by the General Services Administration's Regulatory 
Information Service Center and were printed in the Federal Register of 
December 11, 2006 (vol. 71, no. 237). Both the Regulatory Plan and 
Unified Agenda are available on-line at www.reginfo.gov and at 
www.gpoaccess.gov.
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  Although not included in the budget, the estimated costs and benefits 
of Federal regulation have been published annually by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) since 1997. The latest report was released 
in January 2007. \4\ The report estimates the total costs and benefits 
of major Federal regulations reviewed by OMB from October 1995 through 
September 2005, and the impact of Federal regulation on State, local, 
and tribal governments. It also reviews the international literature on 
the effects of regulation on national economic growth and performance, 
provides an update on various initiatives to improve regulatory 
cooperation internationally, provides an update on the status of 
regulatory reforms resulting from three public nomination initiatives in 
2001, 2002, and 2004, and includes a report on Agency Compliance with 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. The draft of the 2007 report 
will be published in February 2007 for public comment.
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  \4\ Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, Validating Regulatory Analysis: 2006 Report to Congress on 
the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on 
State, Local, and Tribal Entities (2006).
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  Indirect Macroeconomic Effects of Federal Activity.--Government 
activity has many effects on the Nation's economy that extend beyond the 
amounts recorded in the budget. Government expenditures, taxation, tax 
expenditures, regulation and trade policy can all affect the allocation 
of resources among private uses and income distribution among 
individuals. These effects, resulting indirectly from Federal activity, 
are generally not part of the budget, but the most important of them are 
discussed in this volume and in the main Budget volume.