Section 10 Federal Government Finances and Employment This section presents statistics relating to activities—including the Federal Financing the financial structure and the civilian em- Bank, the Postal Service, the Synthetic Fu- ployment of the Federal Government. The els Corporation, and the lending activities fiscal data cover taxes, other receipts, out- of the Rural Electrification Administration. lays, and debt. The principal sources of fis- The Balanced Budget and Emergency Defi- cal data are The Budget of the United States cit Control Act of 1985 (P.L.99-177) re- Government and related documents, pub- pealed the off-budget status of these enti- lished annually by the Office of Manage- ties and placed social security (Federal old- ment and Budget (OMB), and the Depart- age and survivors insurance and the Fed- ment of the Treasury’s United States Gov- eral disability insurance trust funds) off- ernment Annual Report and its Appendix. budget. Though social security is now off- Detailed data on tax returns and collec- budget and, by law, excluded from cover- tions are published annually by the Internal age of the congressional budget resolu- Revenue Service. The personnel data relate tions, it continues to be a Federal program. to staffing and payrolls. They are pub- Receipts arising from the Government’s lished by the Office of Personnel Manage- sovereign powers are reported as govern- ment and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. mental receipts; all other receipts, i.e., The primary source for data on public from business-type or market-oriented ac- lands is Public Land Statistics, published tivities, are offset against outlays. Outlays annually by the Bureau of Land Manage- are reported on a checks-issued (net) basis ment, Department of the Interior. Data on (i.e., outlays are recorded at the time the federally owned land and real property are checks to pay bills are issued). collected by the General Services Adminis- tration and presented in its annual Inven- Debt concept—For most of U.S. history, tory Report on Real Property Owned by the the total debt consisted of debt borrowed United States Throughout the World. by the Treasury (i.e., public debt). The present debt series, includes both public Budget concept—Under the unified bud- debt and agency debt. The gross Federal get concept, all Federal monies are in- debt includes money borrowed by the Trea- cluded in one comprehensive budget. sury and by various Federal agencies; it is These monies comprise both Federal funds the broadest generally used measure of the and trust funds. Federal funds are derived Federal debt. Total public debt is covered mainly from taxes and borrowing and are by a statutory debt limitation and includes not restricted by law to any specific gov- only borrowing by the Treasury. ernment purpose. Trust funds, such as the Unemployment Trust Fund, collect certain Treasury receipts and outlays—All re- taxes and other receipts for use in carrying ceipts of the Government, with a few ex- out specific purposes or programs in accor- ceptions, are deposited to the credit of the dance with the terms of the trust agree- U.S. Treasury regardless of ultimate dispo- ment or statute. Fund balances include sition. Under the Constitution, no money both cash balances with Treasury and in- may be withdrawn from the Treasury un- vestments in U.S. securities. Part of the less appropriated by the Congress. balance is obligated, part unobligated. Prior to 1985, the budget totals, under pro- The day-to-day cash operations of the Fed- visions of law, excluded some Federal eral Government clearing through the Federal Government Finances and Employment 345 U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1999 accounts of the U.S. Treasury are reported except the Central Intelligence Agency, the in the Daily Treasury Statement. Extensive National Security Agency, and the Defense detail on the public debt is published in Intelligence Agency. Employment figures the Monthly Statement of the Public Debt of represent the number of persons who oc- the United States. cupied civilian positions at the end of the report month shown and who are paid for Budget receipts such as taxes, customs du- personal services rendered for the Federal ties, and miscellaneous receipts, which are Government, regardless of the nature of collected by Government agencies, and appointment or method of payment. Fed- outlays represented by checks issued and eral payrolls include all payments for per- cash payments made by disbursing officers sonal services rendered during the report as well as government agencies are re- month and payments for accumulated an- ported in the Daily Treasury Statement of nual leave of employees who separate Receipts and Outlays of the United States from the service. Since most Federal em- Government and in the Treasury’s United ployees are paid on a biweekly basis, the States Government Annual Report and its calendar month earnings are partially esti- Appendix. These deposits in and payments mated on the basis of the number of work from accounts maintained by Government days in each month where payroll periods agencies are on the same basis as the uni- overlap. fied budget. Federal employment and payroll figures The quarterly Treasury Bulletin contains are published by the Office of Personnel data on fiscal operations and related Trea- Management in its Federal Civilian sury activities, including financial state- Workforce Statistics—Employment and ments of Government corporations and Trends. It also publishes biennial employ- other business-type activities. ment data for minority groups, data on oc- Income tax returns and tax collec- cupations of white- and blue-collar work- tions—Tax data are compiled by the Inter- ers, and data on employment by geo- nal Revenue Service of the Treasury Depart- graphic area; reports on salary and wage ment. The Annual Report of the Commis- distribution of Federal employees are pub- sioner and Chief Counsel of the Internal lished annually. General schedule is prima- Revenue Service gives a detailed account of rily white-collar; wage system primarily tax collections by kind of tax and by re- blue-collar. Data on Federal employment gions, districts, and states. The agency’s are also issued by the Bureau of Labor Sta- annual Statistics of Income reports present tistics in its Monthly Labor Review and in detailed data from individual income tax Employment and Earnings and by the U.S. returns and corporation income tax re- Census Bureau in its annual Public Employ- turns. The quarterly Statistics of Income ment. Bulletin has, in general, replaced the Public lands—The data on applications, supplemental Statistics of Income publica- entries, selections, patents, and certifica- tions which presented data on such diverse tions refer to transactions which involve subjects as tax-exempt organizations, unin- the disposal, under the public land laws corporated businesses, fiduciary income (including the homestead laws), of Federal tax and estate tax returns, sales of capital public lands to non-Federal owners. In gen- assets by individuals, international income eral, original entries and selections are ap- and taxes reported by corporations and in- plications to secure title to public lands dividuals, and estate tax wealth. which have been accepted as properly filed Employment and payrolls—The Office (i.e., allowed). Some types of applications, of Personnel Management collects employ- however, are not reported until issuance of ment and payroll data from all departments the final certificate, which passes equitable and agencies of the Federal Government, title to the land to the applicant. 346 Federal Government Finances and Employment U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1999 Figure 10.1 Federal Budget Summary: 1980 to 1999 Receipts, outlays, and surplus or deficit Billions of dollars 2,000 Surplus Deficit 1,500 Outlays 1,000 Receipts 500 0 1980 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '99 est Outlays and Federal debt as a percent of gross domestic product Percent 80 Gross Federal debt 70 60 50 40 30 Outlays 20 10 0 1980 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '99 est Gross Federal debt Billions of dollars 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 1980 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98 '99 est Source: Chart prepared by U.S. Census Bureau. For data, see Table 542. Federal Government Finances and Employment 347 U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1999 No. 542. Federal Budget—Summary: 1945 to 1999 [In millions of dollars ($45,159 represents $45,159,000,000), except percent. For fiscal years ending in year shown; see text, Section 9, State and Local Government. The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 put all the previously off-budget Federal entities into the budget and moved social security off-budget. Minus sign (-) indicates deficit or decrease] Gross Federal debt 2 Held by the public Year Outlays Federal Federal Surplus or as percent gov’t Reserve As percent Receipts Outlays deficit(-) of GDP 1 Total account Total System of GDP 1 1945 ........ 45,159 92,712 -47,553 41.9 260,123 24,941 235,182 21,792 117.5 1950 ........ 39,443 42,562 -3,119 15.6 256,853 37,830 219,023 18,331 93.9 1955 ........ 65,451 68,444 -2,993 17.3 274,366 47,751 226,616 23,607 69.4 1960 ........ 92,492 92,191 301 17.8 290,525 53,686 236,840 26,523 56.1 1965 ........ 116,817 118,228 -1,411 17.2 322,318 61,540 260,778 39,100 46.9 1970 ........ 192,807 195,649 -2,842 19.4 380,921 97,723 283,198 57,714 37.8 1975 .......