Furthermore, since also fell on a weekend, outlays in April 2022 were higher. Because Apfell on a weekend, certain payments that would have occurred in April were shifted into March, thereby decreasing outlays. The federal government ran a surplus of $176 billion in April 2023, a $132 billion decrease from the surplus of $308 billion that was recorded in April 2022.

Federal Budget Deficit for April 2022: $308 billion.

Federal Budget Deficit for April 2023: $176 billion.

The following contains budget data for April 2023, which was the seventh month of fiscal year (FY) 2023. Treasury releases data on the federal budget, including the current deficit. While the appropriate level of defense funding is part of an ongoing debate, one thing is clear - national defense spending is currently one of the top priorities of the U.S. Indeed, the United States spends more than any other advanced economy in this area, not only in raw dollars, but also as a share of the economy. The national defense budget funds a wide range of activities and represents a significant share of overall federal spending. National defense spending remains a top priority of the federal government

Those categories, and their relationship to national defense, highlight the federal government’s significant budgetary commitment in this area. That spending influences political and economic developments in other countries and can therefore affect future decisions on military involvement and defense spending. The second is international affairs, to which the federal government devoted $72 billion in 2022 for activities such as humanitarian assistance and international development. Those commitments arise in part from past military decisions. The first is veterans’ benefits and services, on which the federal government spent $274 billion in 2022. Two large categories of spending have a close relationship with the defense budget, though they technically fall outside of it. Although the United States was involved in the Vietnam War around that time and operational costs were significant, a much larger share of military spending was devoted to military personnel and procuring weapons and systems at that time.

Operation and maintenance accounted for 38 percent of military spending in 2022, which is up from roughly one-quarter of all military spending in 1972. The composition of DoD spending has varied over time. TWEET THIS How has national defense spending changed over time? The military also spent over $10 billion on the construction and management of military facilities and $1 billion on family housing. Procurement of weapons and systems cost $136 billion in 2022 and $107 billion was spent on research and development of weapons and equipment. Several smaller categories accounted for the rest of DoD spending. The second largest category, military personnel, supports pay and retirement benefits for service members and cost $181 billion in 2022. It covers the cost of military operations such as training and planning, maintenance of equipment, and most of the military healthcare system (separate from outlays made by the Department of Veterans Affairs). The largest category, operation and maintenance, cost $291 billion in 2022. The remaining $39 billion was spent on defense-related activities carried out by other agencies, such as the Department of Energy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.ĭoD funding for military activities support a broad range of activities.

The majority of the overall defense budget, $727 billion in FY2022, was spent by the Department of Defense (DoD) on military activities. TWEET THIS How is the defense budget allocated? This explainer looks at the components of the U.S. Such spending indicates that lawmakers have prioritized national defense as a key part of our budget indeed, the United States spends more on defense, relative to the size of its economy, than any other member of the G7 (a group of the world’s largest advanced economies, the members of which are shown in the chart below). Defense spending in 2022 was less than the average for the last decade, which was 15 percent of the budget. The United States spent $766 billion on national defense during fiscal year (FY) 2022 according to the Office of Management and Budget, which amounted to 12 percent of federal spending.

Federal budget 2021 chart