Uncontrollable Expenditures
The House and Senate appropriations committees do not have a voice in all current federal government
spending. Earlier legislation, such as the laws establishing Medicare, represents about 70 percent of federal
spending each year. Since the government is already committed to these expenditures, neither the president
nor the Congress can alter them without a change in the law. Economists call these expenses uncontrollables.
Such required spending includes interest on the national debt and federal contracts that are already in force.
Some of these expenditures are known as entitlements because they are social programs that entitle
individuals to a certain program or monetary benefits-veterans' pensions and Social Security payments, for
example, are entitlements.
UNDERSTANDING CRAFT AND STRUCTURE
1 ANALYZING TEXT STRUCTURE How does the first sentence of this section connect with the previous section?