[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 the Government's financial plan 
for proposing, deciding, and controlling the allocation of resources. 
Those financial activities that constitute the direct allocation of 
resources are included in the budget's measures of receipts and 
expenditures, and characterized as ``budgetary.''
  Federal Government activities that do not involve the direct 
allocation of resources in a measurable way are characterized as ``non-
budgetary'' and classified outside of the budget. For example, the 
budget does not include funds that are privately owned, but held and 
managed by the Government in a fiduciary capacity, such as the deposit 
funds owned by Native American Indians. In addition, the budget does not 
include costs that are borne by the private sector even when those costs 
result from Federal regulatory activity. Also, although the budget 
includes the subsidy costs of Federal loan programs, it does not include 
the other cash flows of these programs that do not involve an allocation 
of resources by the Government. Non-budgetary activities can be 
important instruments of Federal policy and are discussed briefly in 
this chapter and in more detail in other parts of the budget.
  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, as discussed below, refers to Federal 
Government activities that are required by law to be excluded from the 
budget totals.

                       Off-Budget Federal Entities

  The budget of the Federal Government reflects the 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 the programs of off-budget entities result in the same 
kind of spending and receipts as on-budget entities. The ``unified 
budget'' reflects the conceptual similarity between on-budget and off-
budget entities by showing combined totals of outlays and receipts for 
both types of 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 financial 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.
  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 was classified off-
budget in 1989.\1\ 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.
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  \1\ The President's 2009 Budget requests appropriations for two new 
off-budget accounts--the Postal Regulatory Commission and the Office of 
Inspector General of the United States Postal Service. These 
appropriations will fund the administrative expenses of these two 
entities. As in the past, these expenses will be funded by the off-
budget Postal Service Fund, but will now be classified as discretionary 
rather than mandatory, as required by the Postal Accountability and 
Enhancement Act, P.L. 109-435.
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  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.

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  Because Social Security is the largest single program in the unified 
budget and is classified by law as off-budget, the off-budget accounts 
comprise a significant part of total Federal spending and receipts. In 
2009, off-budget receipts are an estimated 26 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 
2009 is $407 billion--a $611 billion on-budget deficit partly offset by 
a $204 billion off-budget surplus. The off-budget surplus consists 
entirely 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 and never reach balance again. The long-term challenge of 
Social Security is discussed in Chapter 13 of this volume, 
``Stewardship.''

                                     

                                        Table 23-1.  COMPARISON OF TOTAL, ON-BUDGET, AND OFF-BUDGET TRANSACTIONS
                                                                (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...............................      2,568.2      1,933.2        635.1      2,730.2      2,276.6        453.6       -162.0       -343.5        181.5
2008 estimate......................      2,521.2      1,859.0        662.2      2,931.2      2,461.2        470.1       -410.0       -602.2        192.2
2009 estimate......................      2,699.9      2,004.4        695.6      3,107.4      2,615.5        491.9       -407.4       -611.1        203.7

2010 estimate......................      2,931.3      2,191.2        740.2      3,091.3      2,575.0        516.4       -160.0       -383.8        223.8
2011 estimate......................      3,076.4      2,295.1        781.4      3,171.2      2,630.5        540.8        -94.8       -335.4        240.6
2012 estimate......................      3,269.9      2,451.3        818.6      3,221.8      2,653.8        568.0         48.1       -202.5        250.6
2013 estimate......................      3,428.2      2,569.1        859.1      3,398.9      2,769.7        629.2         29.3       -200.6        229.9
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                        Non-Budgetary Activities

  Some important Government activities are characterized as non-
budgetary because they do not involve the direct allocation of resources 
by the Government. Some of the Government's major non-budgetary 
activities are discussed below.

  Federal credit programs: budgetary and non-budgetary transactions.--
Federal credit programs make direct loans or guarantee private loans. 
The Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 changed 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 creates a financial asset that 
will produce future cash inflows for the Government as the loan is 
repaid. When the

[[Page 359]]

Government guarantees a loan made by a non-Federal lender, it creates 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 
the future repayments of principal and interest as receipts. In 
addition, prior to the Credit Reform Act, the budget did not record loan 
guarantees as a cost or an outlay unless or until a loan actually 
defaulted, and the Government had to fulfill its guarantee commitment.
  Since 1992, under the Credit Reform Act, the budgetary costs of direct 
loans and loan guarantees have been 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. For example, 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. Similarly, a group of loan guarantees with upfront fees that 
exactly offset the expected cost of defaults would have zero net cost 
and no effect on Government outlays. 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 is 
measured on a present value basis. This subsidy 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 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. Under the Credit Reform Act, the financing accounts are 
non-budgetary and excluded from the budget.\2\ 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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  \2\ See 505(b) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990.
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  Since the adoption of credit reform, the budget outlays of credit 
programs reflect only the subsidy costs of Government credit and show 
this cost when the credit assistance is provided, thereby reflecting the 
true cost of credit decisions. 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.\3\ Credit programs are discussed in Chapter 7 
of this volume, ``Credit and Insurance.''
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  \3\ 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 Social Security proposal is adopted, contributions into the personal 
accounts will be recorded as outlays, but the accounts themselves will 
be classified as 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.''

  Government-sponsored enterprises.--The Federal Government has 
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, despite their origin, they are now all privately 
owned and controlled. However, because they were established by the 
Federal Government to serve public-policy purposes and because

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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.''
  Tax expenditures.--The Federal tax system includes numerous special 
tax exclusions, exemptions, deductions, and similar provisions. These 
provisions subsidize particular activities and can 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.
  Although the effects of tax expenditures are incorporated into the 
Budget's estimates of receipts, tax expenditures are considered non-
budgetary. This is because tax expenditures are not shown explicitly as 
outlays or as negative tax receipts and because tax expenditures pose 
significant measurement problems. Tax expenditures are identified and 
measured by first specifying a hypothetical ``baseline'' tax system, 
which as noted below can be highly subjective and technically complex. 
Tax expenditures are discussed in Chapter 19 of this volume, ``Tax 
Expenditures.'' Chapter 19 presents estimates for tax expenditures 
associated with individual and corporate income taxes, and discusses how 
tax expenditures compare with spending programs and regulation as 
alternative methods for achieving policy objectives.
  The current tax expenditure baseline is loosely patterned on a 
comprehensive income tax, but departs from that standard in a number of 
areas. As explained in more detail in Chapter 19, the current baseline 
concepts used to identify and measure tax expenditures are somewhat 
arbitrary and yet essential. As noted in the chapter, the magnitude and 
distribution of tax expenditures would be significantly different if 
measured relative to a pure comprehensive income tax or a comprehensive 
consumption tax rather than the current baseline. The appendix to 
Chapter 19 provides a critique of the current tax expenditure 
presentation and attempts to answer three questions: (1) what would tax 
expenditures be if a comprehensive income tax were used as the baseline 
without any departures from such a standard; (2) what would tax 
expenditures be 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 the baseline. Examples 
include interest, capital gains and depreciation provisions that are not 
adjusted for inflation.
  Hypothetically, tax expenditures could be included as outlays in the 
budget. Doing so would require measuring receipts as the sum of actual 
receipts plus the total revenue lost to the tax expenditures and 
measuring outlays as the sum of actual outlays plus the tax 
expenditures. The budget would then show the Government's allocation of 
resources to education, housing and other activities as the sum of 
spending programs plus tax expenditures; this allocation would be 
different from the allocation for just spending programs alone. Because 
receipts and outlays would be increased by the same amount, the 
resulting deficit would be unchanged. The difficulties in identifying 
and measuring tax expenditures make it impractical to include tax 
expenditures in the budget in this manner.

  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 Government's cost of 
conducting regulatory activities, the costs imposed on the private 
sector as a result of the regulation are treated as non-budgetary and 
not included in the budget. 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.\4\
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  \4\ 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 10, 2007 (vol. 72, no. 236). 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 March 2007.\5\ The report estimates the total costs and benefits of 
major Federal regulations reviewed by OMB from October 1996 through 
September 2006, and the impact of Federal regulation on State, local, 
and tribal governments. It also includes a report on Agency Compliance 
with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
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  \5\ Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, 2007 Draft Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of 
Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal 
Entities (2007). The Report is available at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
inforeg/2007----cb/2007----draft----cb----report.pdf.
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  Monetary Policy.--As noted above, the budget is a financial plan for 
allocating resources by raising revenues and spending those revenues. 
This fiscal policy tool is used by elected Government officials to 
promote economic growth. Monetary policy is another tool that 
governments use to promote a strong and stable economy, primarily by 
maintaining price stability and a sound banking system. In the United 
States, monetary policy is conducted by the Federal Reserve System, 
which, by law, is a self-financing entity that is independent of the 
other branches of Government. The effects of monetary policy and the 
actions of the Federal Reserve System are non-budgetary; the budget of 
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is included in the 
Budget Appendix for informational purposes only.

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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.