$1 Trillion for Welfare

Congressional Research Service (CRS) identified 83 overlapping federal welfare programs that together represented the single largest budget item in 2011—more than the nation spends on Social Security, Medicare, or national defense.

The total amount spent on these 80-plus federal welfare programs amounts to roughly $1.03 trillion. Importantly, these figures solely refer to means-tested welfare benefits. They exclude entitlement programs to which people contribute (e.g., Social Security and Medicare).

As a historical comparison, spending on the 10 largest of the 83 programs (which account for the bulk of federal welfare spending) has doubled as a share of the federal budget over just the last 30 years. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the amount expended on these 10 programs has increased by 378 percent over that time.

A list of all 83 federal welfare programs examined by CRS follows:

• Family Planning

• Consolidated Health Centers

• Transitional Cash and Medical Services for Refugees

• State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

• Voluntary Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit—Low-Income Subsidy

• Medicaid

• Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

• Breast/Cervical Cancer Early Detection

• Maternal and Child Health Block Grant

• Indian Health Service

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (cash aid)

• Supplemental Security Income

• Additional Child Tax Credit

• Earned Income Tax Credit (refundable component)

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• School Breakfast Program (free/reduced price components)

• National School Lunch Program (free/reduced price components)

• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)

• Child and Adult Care Food Program (lower income components)

• Summer Food Service Program

• Commodity Supplemental

• Food Program Nutrition Assistance for Puerto Rico

• The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)

• Nutrition Program for the Elderly

• Indian Education

• Adult Basic Education Grants to States

• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

• Education for the Disadvantaged— Grants to Local Educational Agencies (Title I-A)

• Title I Migrant Education Program

• Higher Education—Institutional Aid and Developing Institutions

• Federal Work-Study

• Federal TRIO Programs

• Federal Pell Grants

• Education for Homeless Children and Youth

• 21st Century Community Learning Centers

• Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR- UP)

• Reading First and Early Reading First

• Rural Education Achievement Program

• Mathematics and Science Partnerships

• Improving Teacher Quality State Grants

• Academic Competitiveness and Smart Grant Program

• Single-Family Rural Housing Loans

• Rural Rental Assistance Program

• Water and Waste Disposal for Rural Communities

• Public Works and Economic Development

• Supportive Housing for the Elderly

• Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities

• Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance

• Community Development Block Grants

• Homeless Assistance Grants

• Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)

• Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)

• Public Housing

• Indian Housing Block Grants

• Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers

• Neighborhood Stabilization Program-1

• Grants to States for Low-Income Housing in Lieu of Low-Income Housing Credit Allocations

• Tax Credit Assistance Program

• Indian Human Services

• Older Americans Act Grants for Supportive Services and Senior Centers

• Older Americans Act Family Caregiver Program

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (social services)

• Child Support Enforcement

• Community Services Block Grant

• Child Care and Development Fund

• Head Start HHS

• Developmental Disabilities Support and Advocacy Grants

• Foster Care

• Adoption Assistance

• Social Services Block Grant

• Chafee Foster Care Independence Program

• Emergency Food and Shelter Program

• Legal Services Corporation

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (employment and training component)

• Community Service Employment for Older Americans

• Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult Activities

• Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Youth Activities

• Social Services and Targeted Assistance for Refugees

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (employment and training)

• Foster Grandparents

• Job Corps

• Weatherization Assistance Program

• Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)