Policy Optionality Index
This chart shows how much federal revenue remains after mandatory programs and net interest are paid. It uses Congressional Budget Office historical data; negative readings mean those commitments exceed revenue before discretionary spending, but the measure is not a forecast of default or a complete fiscal sustainability model.
What does it show?
Mandatory programs and interest now consume nearly all federal revenue, leaving very little room before discretionary spending begins.
Methodology
Federal revenues minus mandatory outlays (programmatic net of offsetting receipts) minus net interest, as a share of revenues, by fiscal year. All inputs from CBO’s Historical Budget Data via the agency’s open-data repository. Below zero, every discretionary dollar — including defense — is borrowed.