Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided a detailed breakdown of major components of the proposed budget for a Senate bill for a balanced budget and debt reduction.
GAO found that the proposed bill redefined three budgets, with the: (1) retirement funds budget to include such major components as the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Fund, Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, Military Retirement Fund, Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, and the Railroad Retirement Fund and receipts from employee taxes and contributions, federal employer contributions, and interest on retirement investments; (2) debt and interest budget to include the two major components of increase on the public debt, derived from funds borrowed from government accounts and funds borrowed from the public, and interest on the public debt; and (3) operating budget to consist of all receipts and outlays other than those included in the other two proposed budgets, including intragovernmental receipts, taxes and fees other than personal income, corporate, and excise tax receipts, and proprietary receipts from the public.
