An '''entitlement''' is a [[federal]] program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or state or local [[government]], or other entities that meet the eligibility criteria established by authorizing law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the [[federal]] [[government]], and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. [[Social Security]], veterans' compensation, and government pensions are examples of entitlement programs.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/entitlement.htm] US Senate Reference</ref>
'''Entitlement spending''' can also be referred to as '''non-discretionary spending''' or [[mandatory spending]], and is not controlled through the regular annual [[appropriations]] process. Instead, entitlement spending is based on the eligibility and benefit criteria established in law, which is under the jurisdiction of the various authorizing committees of the [[House]] and [[Senate]].
The total amount of spending on entitlements has been determined by the aggregate total of all individual benefits. Most entitlement spending, such as for [[Medicare]], is not capped at a specific spending level, and typically increases each year as the number of eligible beneficiaries and the authorized benefit payments increases. However, some entitlement spending—particularly entitlement payments to states, such as the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (commonly referred to as CHIP)—is capped at a specific level provided in the authorizing law.
automatically each year, without legislative action by Congress. Examples of such programs
include [[Social Security]], Medicare, and federal employee retirement.<ref>[http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS20129.pdf Entitlements and Appropriated Entitlements
in the Federal Budget Process], Congressional Research Service, November 26, 2012.</ref>
==Budget Act of 1974==