Budget

White House budget breakdown: FY 2016 agency-by-agency funding levels

Federal News Radio provides a quick, agency-by-agency overview of President Barack Obama's Fiscal Year 2016 budget.

Federal News Network Staff

February 2, 2015 11:12 am

6 min read

Federal News Radio staff

President Barack Obama released his $4 trillion fiscal 2016 budget blueprint Monday. The budget proposal lays out the administration’s spending priorities for next year, but Congress holds the final purse strings and is likely to balk at several of the proposals.

Overall, the Obama budget proposes a 1.3 percent pay raise for federal employees and service members in fiscal 2016.

The proposal also includes $105 million for the U.S. Digital Service to increase its work at federal agencies. USDS began as a pilot program in August 2014.

In addition to the $105 million request, the Office of Management and Budget told agencies in the IT passback guidance to spend a certain percentage of their own IT budget on creating these new offices. The administration wants these new offices in place by Oct. 1.

Track the Obama administration’s proposed funding levels for federal agencies below.

Agriculture

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$25 billion

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3. 3 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The bulk of the budget proposal includes $25 billion for investment in rural communities, such as supporting the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children and expanding the summer electronic benefit transfer (EBT) pilots, which help reduce childhood hunger during the summer. The budget also provides $550 million for competitive research grants to help launch two research institutes looking into nanocellulosics and biomanufacturing/bioproducts.

Commerce

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$9.8 billion

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15 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The budget request includes funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology to advance cybersecurity services. It also provides $1.5 billion in research funding for the U.S. Census Bureau to develop cost-saving technology to be applied to the 2020 Decennial Census.

Defense

Proposed 2016

Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$585 billion

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4.4 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The proposed Defense budget is made up of $534 billion for discretionary funding and $51 billion in Overseas Contigency Operations funding for a total of $585 billion. Priorities outlined in the proposal include increasing sustainment for the nuclear force, combating the Islamic State militants and advancing security in the Asia-Pacific region. To increase the technical superiority of the U.S., the budget invests $12 billion in scientific and technical research in such areas as cybersecurity and quantum information science.

Education

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$70.7 billion

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5.4 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The budget proposes $145 billion in new spending and reforms over the next 10 years to help in early learning, postsecondary education and support for teachers. This includes $1.3 billion in funding in 2016 for President Obama’s Preschool for All program. The budget also includes a mandatory investment over the next decade of $60.3 billion to the America’s College Promise initiative and $200 million for the American Technical Training Fund.

Energy

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$29.9 billion

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9.1 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

President Obama’s budget proposal adds almost $5 billion to Energy’s research and development portfolio. It is also investing $12.6 billion in the National Nuclear Security Administration to help it modernize the nuclear security infrastructure. An additional $5.8 billion will be used for critical nuclear legacy cleanup.

Environmental Protection Agency

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$8.6 billion

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5.5 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The fiscal 2016 budget adds $120 million toward improving air quality and $70 million to ensure drinking water is safe.

Health and Human Services

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$83.8 billion

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6 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The budget aims to “bring mental health out of the shadows” by adding $58 million to the budgets of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for President Obama’s Now is the Time initiative. The budget also invests $4.2 billion in the Health Centers program.

Homeland Security

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$41.2 billion

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7.8 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The FY2016 budget proposal invests $3.7 billion in aviation security and screening for the Transportation Security Administration. It is also investing $132.3 million to support the Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler Programs, which provides expedited travel screening for low-risk travelers.

Housing and Urban Development

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$49.3 billion

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8.7 percent below FY 2015 enacted levels

The budget invests $2.5 billion in Homeless Assistance Grants in support of the Obama administration’s goal of not only ending chronic homelessness, but also reducing homelessness among veterans and families. The budget also includes $748 million to assist community development and the housing needs of Native American tribes.

Interior

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$13.2 billion

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8 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The fiscal 2016 budget seeks to add $900 million annually to programs funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund. These programs help promote land conservation, recreation and sportsmen’s access. The full dedicated funding would start in 2017.

Justice

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$28.7 billion

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4.7 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The Justice Department aims to increase its cybersecurity posture and enhance law enforcement efforts to detect and prevent cyber attacks by dedicating more than $200 million to IT upgrades and tools. In an effort to reduce the immigration case backlog, $482 million will be put toward hiring 55 more Immigration Judge Teams to provide legal council to more than 300,000 unaccompanied minors. These funds will also go toward expanding the Legal Orientation Program.

Labor

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$13.2 billion

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10.9 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

In order to help up to five states launch paid leave programs, the fiscal 2016 budget provides $2 billion for the Paid Leave Partnership Initiative. The budget also increases funding for core formula programs that support implementation of the recently enacted Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

Social Security Administration

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$12.7 billion

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6.7 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The fiscal 2016 budget helps the Social Security Administration to improve and modernize its customer service. It will also help the agency address the increasing wait times for disability appeals.

State and USAID

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$50.3 billion

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6 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The budget proposal includes $3.5 billion to counter the Islamic State militants and $4.8 billion in support of overseas security requirements and infrastructure improvements.

Transportation

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$94.7 billion

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30.6 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The proposed FY 2016 budget includes $478 billion for a surface transportation reauthorization proposal. This six-year effort will create jobs and improve critical infrastructure. The budget also increases transit and passenger rail funding by $23 billion.

Treasury

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$14.3 billion

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17 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The bulk of proposed additional funding goes to the Internal Revenue Service, to improve taxpayer services. The budget calls for IRS to receive $12.9 billion — which is up from the $12.5 billion in FY 2015 request. An additional $2.9 billion is allocated for Treasury’s international assistance programs.

Veterans Affairs

Proposed 2016 Funding

Comparison

Highlights/details

$70.2 billion

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7 percent above FY 2015 enacted levels

The Veterans Affairs Department budget proposal includes $3.2 billion in medical care collections, which brings the total discretionary budget up to $73.5 billion. The budget provides $60 billion to help improve veterans’ access to medical care. Also, $1.4 billion is dedicated to programs aimed at ending homelessness among veterans.

(Source: OMB, AP)

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