    [Analytical Perspectives]
    [Introduction]
    [1. Introduction]
    [From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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                                  INTRODUCTION

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                                 1. INTRODUCTION

                             Purpose of This Volume

      The Analytical Perspectives volume presents analyses that highlight
    specific subject areas or provide other significant data that place the
    budget in context. This volume presents crosscutting analyses of
    Government programs and activities from several perspectives.
      Presidential budgets have included separate analytical presentations
    of this kind for many years. The 1947 Budget and subsequent budgets
    included a separate section entitled ``Special Analyses and Tables''
    that covered four or more topics. For the 1952 Budget, the section was
    expanded to ten analyses, including many subjects still covered today,
    such as receipts, investment, credit programs, and aid to State and
    local governments. With the 1967 Budget this material became a separate
    volume entitled ``Special Analyses,'' and included 13 chapters. The
    material has remained a separate volume since then, with the exception
    of the Budgets for 1991-1994, when all of the budget material was
    included in one large volume. Beginning with the 1995 Budget, the volume
    has been named Analytical Perspectives.
      The Analytical Perspectives volume this year continues to reflect an
    interest in publishing more information on program performance, so that
    Executive agencies, the Congress, and the public will become
    increasingly informed about how well programs are performing. Increased
    performance information can help managers improve program effectiveness,
    and can help Executive and Congressional policymakers improve the
    allocation of public resources. On November 13, 2007, President Bush
    issued an Executive Order that formalizes the commitment of the U.S.
    government to spend the taxpayers' money wisely and more effectively
    every year. The performance assessment information is summarized in
    Chapter 2, ``Performance Improvement Initiative,'' and is discussed in
    many other chapters, especially those in the section, ``Crosscutting
    Programs.'' One-page summaries of each program assessment are available
    at www.ExpectMore.gov and further information on the PART process is
    available at www.omb.gov/part.
      Again this year, several large tables are included at http://
    www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/spec.html for the electronic
    version of this volume and on the Analytical Perspectives CD-ROM
    enclosed with the printed version of this volume. A list of these items
    is in the Table of Contents.

                            Overview of the Chapters

    Introduction

       1. Introduction. This chapter discusses each of the subsequent
    chapters briefly and highlights the emphasis on performance in a
    crosscutting context.

    Performance and Management Assessments

       2. Performance Improvement Initiative. This chapter summarizes the
    performance and management assessments that have been completed to date
    using the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). One-page summaries of
    the program evaluations, as well as detail on each of the assessments
    can be found at www.ExpectMore.gov.

    Crosscutting Programs

       3. Homeland Security Funding Analysis. This chapter discusses
    homeland security funding and provides information on homeland security
    program requirements, performance, and priorities. Additional detailed
    information is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/
    spec.html for the electronic version of this volume and on the
    Analytical Perspectives CD-ROM enclosed with the printed version of this
    volume.
       4. Strengthening Federal Statistics. This chapter discusses the
    development of standards that principal statistical programs can use to
    assess their performance and presents highlights of their 2009 Budget
    proposals.
       5. Research and Development. This chapter presents a crosscutting
    review of research and development funding in the Budget, including
    discussions about priorities, performance, and coordination across
    agencies.
       6. Federal Investment. This chapter discusses federally-financed
    spending that yields long-term benefits. It presents information on
    annual spending on physical capital, research and development, and
    education and training, and on the cumulative capital stocks resulting
    from that spending. Also included in this chapter is material on the
    PART assessments related to direct Federal investment spending.
       7. Credit and Insurance. This chapter provides crosscutting analyses
    of the roles, risks, and performance of Federal credit and insurance
    programs and Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). It covers the
    categories of Federal credit (housing, education, business including
    farm operations, and international) and insurance programs (deposit
    insurance, pension guarantees, disaster insurance, and insurance against
    security-related risks). Two detailed tables, ``Table 7-10. Direct Loan
    Transactions of the Federal Government'' and ``Table 7-11. Guaranteed
    Loan Transactions of the Federal Government,'' are available at http://
    www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/spec.html for

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    the electronic version of this volume and on the Analytical Perspectives
    CD-ROM enclosed with the printed version of this volume.
       8. Aid to State and Local Governments. This chapter presents
    crosscutting information on Federal grants to State and local
    governments, including highlights of Administration proposals. This
    chapter also includes material on the PART assessments related to
    grants. An Appendix to this chapter includes State-by-State spending
    estimates of major grant programs.
       9. Integrating Services with Information Technology. This chapter
    presents a crosscutting look at investments in information technology
    (IT). It describes various aspects of the Administration's information
    technology agenda, with special emphasis on the performance, efficiency,
    and effectiveness of the Government's IT investments. Several detailed
    tables are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/
    spec.html for the electronic version of this volume and on the
    Analytical Perspectives CD-ROM enclosed with the printed version of this
    volume.
       10. Federal Drug Control Funding. This chapter presents estimated
    drug control funding for Federal departments and agencies.
       11. California-Federal Bay-Delta Program Budget Crosscut (CALFED).
    This chapter presents information on Federal and State funding for the
    California-Federal Bay-Delta Program, in fulfillment of the reporting
    requirements for this program. Detailed tables on funding and project
    descriptions are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
    fy2009/spec.html for the electronic version of this volume and on the
    Analytical Perspectives CD-ROM enclosed with the printed version of this
    volume.

    Economic Assumptions and Analyses

       12. Economic Assumptions. This chapter reviews recent economic
    developments; presents the Administration's assessment of the economic
    situation and outlook, including the effects of macroeconomic policies;
    and compares the economic assumptions on which the Budget is based with
    the assumptions for last year's budget and those of other forecasters.
    This chapter also covers topics related to the effects on the budget of
    changes in economic conditions and assumptions.
       13. Stewardship. This chapter assesses the Government's financial
    condition and sustainability in an integrated framework that includes
    Federal assets and liabilities; 75-year projections of the Federal
    budget under alternative assumptions; actuarial estimates for the
    shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare; a discussion of tax
    compliance; a national balance sheet that shows the Federal contribution
    to national wealth; and a table of economic and social indicators.
    Together these elements serve similar analytical functions to a
    business's accounting statements.
       14. National Income and Product Accounts. This chapter discusses how
    Federal receipts and outlays fit into the framework of the National
    Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs) prepared by the Department of
    Commerce. The NIPA measures are the basis for reporting Federal
    transactions in the gross domestic product (GDP) and for analyzing the
    effect of the budget on aggregate economic activity.

    Budget Reform Proposals

       15. Budget Reform Proposals. This chapter includes a brief
    description of the Administration's budget reform agenda for addressing
    the need for responsible budgeting and other reforms.

    Federal Borrowing and Debt

       16. Federal Borrowing and Debt. This chapter analyzes Federal
    borrowing and debt and explains the budget estimates. It includes
    sections on special topics such as the trends in debt, agency debt,
    investment by Government accounts, and the debt limit.

    Federal Receipts and Collections

       17. Federal Receipts. This chapter presents information on receipts
    estimates, enacted tax legislation, and the receipts proposals in the
    Budget.
       18. User Charges and Other Collections. This chapter presents
    information on receipts from regulatory fees and on collections from
    market-oriented activities, such as the sale of stamps by the Postal
    Service, which are recorded as offsets to outlays rather than as Federal
    receipts.
       19. Tax Expenditures. This chapter describes and presents estimates
    of tax expenditures, which are defined as revenue losses from special
    exemptions, credits, or other preferences in the tax code. An appendix
    discusses possible alternatives to the current tax expenditure
    baselines.

    Dimensions of the Budget

       20. Comparison of Actual to Estimated Totals. This chapter compares
    the actual receipts, outlays, and deficit for 2007 with the estimates
    for that year published two years ago in the 2007 Budget. It also
    includes a historical comparison of the differences between receipts,
    outlays, and the deficit as originally proposed with final outcomes.
       21. Outlays to the Public, Gross and Net. This chapter provides
    information on outlays gross and net of offsetting collections and
    offsetting receipts by agency. Outlays are a measure of Government
    spending. Offsetting collections and offsetting receipts are netted
    against gross outlays and result primarily from the Government's
    business-like activities, such as the sale of stamps by the Postal
    Service.
       22. Trust Funds and Federal Funds. This chapter provides summary
    information on Federal funds and trust funds, which comprise the entire
    budget. For trust funds the information includes income, outgo, and
    balances.
       23. Off-Budget Federal Entities and Non-Budgetary Activities. This
    chapter discusses off-budget Federal entities (Social Security and
    Postal Service) and non-budgetary activities (such as cash flows for
    credit programs, deposit funds, and regulation).

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       24. Federal Employment and Compensation. This chapter provides
    summary data on the level and recent trends in civilian and military
    employment, personnel compensation and benefits, overseas staffing, and
    the full compensation of military personnel.

    Current Services Estimates

       25. Current Services Estimates. This chapter presents estimates,
    based on rules similar to those contained in the Budget Enforcement Act
    (BEA), of what receipts, outlays, and the deficit would be if no changes
    were made to laws already enacted. It discusses the conceptual framework
    for these estimates and describes differences with the BEA requirements.
    Two detailed tables, ``Table 25-13. Current Services Budget Authority by
    Function, Category, and Program'' and ``Table 25-14. Current Services
    Outlays by Function, Category, and Program,'' are available at http://
    www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2009/spec.html for the electronic
    version of this volume and on the Analytical Perspectives CD-ROM
    enclosed with the printed version of this volume.

    Budget System and Concepts

       26. The Budget System and Concepts. This chapter includes a basic
    reference to the budget process, concepts, laws, and terminology, and
    includes a glossary of budget terms.

    Other

      The following materials are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/
    omb/budget/fy2009/spec.html for the electronic version of this volume
    and on the Analytical Perspectives CD-ROM enclosed with the printed
    version of this volume.
         Detailed Functional Tables. Table 27-1. ``Budget Authority
              and Outlays by Function, Category, and Program''.
         Federal Programs by Agency and Account. Table 28-1.
              ``Federal Programs by Agency and Account''.