Summary: This fact sheet discusses the extent to which federal receipts have been earmarked in fiscal year 1994. In summary, GAO found extensive earmarking in many accounts, such as those financing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Medicare trust funds, as well as the transportation trust funds. In fiscal year 1994, roughly $690 billion, or 47 percent of total receipts from the public were earmarked in the federal budget. This percentage is about the same as what GAO found during its last review of earmarking for fiscal year 1988, when about 48 percent of total receipts from the public were earmarked. On average, states earmark less of their revenues than does the federal government. According to a recent report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, states earmark about 24 percent of their collections. However, this average masks a great variation among states in the extent of earmarking. Although the earmarked share of state tax collections has remained near 24 percent since 1979, state legislatures appear to be turning more readily to earmarking taxes than they did in the recent past.
