what are federal funds used for?

Question

i'm only 15, i'm just looking for help on writting my paper

Answer 1

Pretty broad question, but here goes: Federal spending falls into 2 categories -- discretionary and mandatory. Discretionary is about 1/3rd of spending, and is set each year by Congress. Discretionary spending covers most government programs you are familiar with, like national defense, education, roads, health research, federal courts, etc. The other 2/3rds is mandatory. It is called mandatory because this spending does not require approval by Congress each year; it is spending on auto-pilot, and is disbursed automatically according to formulas or pre-existing laws. Mandatory spending covers entitlement outlays like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well as interest payments on the debt and some agricultural supports. Here are some of the biggest items in the 2006 budget:
Total spending: $2.65 trillion
National defense: $500 billion
Non-defense discretionary: $499 billion
Social Security: $550 billion
Medicare: $391 billion
Medicaid (federal share): $191 billion
Interest on the debt: $217 billion
For more detailed info, see the CBO publication at the url below, or visit the OMB website.

Answer 2

They are use for everything, highways, buildings, weapons,salaries, welfare, grants,schools, etc......