Congress spending $310 billion on non-authorized programs

By Joseph Lawler, Joseph Lawler

Published January 17, 2016

A majority of the federal government's non-defense discretionary spending in fiscal 2016, a total of $310 billion, will go to programs whose authorization has expired and hasn't been renewed by Congress, the Congressional Budget Office reported Friday.

Congress appropriated the funds even though the authorization for the programs, originally granted through 256 separate laws, has expired.

Sen. Mike Enzi, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, drew attention to the report as an example of the budget process breaking apart.

"Alarmingly, this new report indicates that most non-defense discretionary spending is currently being awarded to expired programs," the Wyoming Republican said in a statement. "Congress should reexamine what we are actually funding in order to improve or eliminate government programs not delivering results."