Entitlement
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.[1]
Entitlement spending can also be referred to as non-discretionary spending or mandatory spending, and is not controlled through the 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.
Most entitlement spending bypasses the annual appropriations process altogether and is funded by
permanent or multiyear appropriations in substantive law. Such spending becomes available
automatically each year, without legislative action by Congress. Examples of such programs
include Social Security, Medicare, and federal employee retirement.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
