claim: federal spending is "all discretionary, other than interest on the national debt. social security is discretionary. we have the discretion to change the law. same is true with medicare and medicaid."
author: george will
evidence_1: most mandatory spending consists of entitlement programs such as social  security benefits, medicare, and medicaid. these programs are called " entitlements" because individuals satisfying given eligibility requirements set by  past legislation are entitled to federal government benefits or services. many  other expenses ...
evidence_2: dec 19, 2014 ... will had said: "it's all discretionary, other than interest on the national debt. social  security is discretionary. we have the discretion to change the law. same is true  with medicare and medicaid." indeed, it may not happen often, but mandatory  spending can be changed at any time by passing new legislation ...
evidence_3: jun 29, 2017 ... here's the outlook for social security, medicare and medicaid programs. ... for  this reason, mandatory programs are outside the annual budget process that  governs discretionary spending. .... although not officially a part of the mandatory  budget, the interest on the national debt is also mandatory. for fy ...
evidence_4: mar 9, 2017 ... consists of all federal spending other than that for social security, the major  health care programs, and net interest. c. consists of spending for medicare (net  of premiums and other offsetting receipts), medicaid, and the children's health  insurance program, as well as outlays to subsidize health insurance ...
evidence_5: may 24, 2017 ... discretionary spending is the part of the u.s. federal budget that congress  appropriates each year. the constitution gave congress the authority to raise  and spend money for the federal government. the budget process begins with  the president's budget. it describes his priorities and what the various ...