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| This article was excerpted from the Introduction and Highlights of the Statistical Analysis Report of the same name. The data are primarily from the U.S. Department of Education's Budget Service, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the National Science Foundation, and the budget offices of other federal agencies. | |||
Introduction
This report attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of total federal financial support for education since fiscal year (FY) 1980.* In addition to U.S. Department of Education programs, the many other federal programs that support education are included. The report also includes other types of federal support that are sometimes overlooked. Categories of federal support This report puts federal education funding into three categories: on-budget funds, off-budget support, and nonfederal funds generated by federal legislation. On-budget funds are provided through programs funded by congressional appropriations. Although some consolidation of education programs in one federal agency was achieved with the establishment of the U.S. Department of Education in 1980, many large and significant federal education programs remain outside the Department. In addition, many federal programs involving education have other primary purposes. In order to account fully for all federal support for education, programs residing in other federal departments and agencies having significant educational components are included, even if they have additional purposes. Off-budget support is federal money that has been excluded from the budget by law. Off-budget support in this report consists of the loan capital that is provided directly by the federal government under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Student Loan (FDSL) program. Nonfederal funds generated by federal legislation result from federal loan guarantees and interest subsidies to support loan capital raised through various private and public sources. Nonfederal funds are also made available for education purposes when federal programs require matching funds or offer incentives and subsidies. Almost all such nonfederal education funds go to postsecondary education. Federal tax expenditures Education programs can be supported either by direct funding or by indirect funding mechanisms such as tax expenditures. In this report, federal tax expenditures include only reductions in tax revenue received by the federal government due to deductions, exemptions, and credits allowable in the tax code. Unless otherwise noted, tables and discussions of federal support in this report do not include federal tax expenditures. Outlays versus appropriations or obligations To the extent possible, outlays were used in this report rather than appropriations or obligations, with the exception that obligations were used for academic research at postsecondary institutions. Outlays are the actual amount of dollars spent. Appropriations are the amount of funds made available in legislation providing funds for federal programs. Obligations are spending commitments by the federal government that will require outlays either immediately or in the future. The federal government provides support for education well beyond programs funded through the Department of Edu-cation. Federal support for education, excluding estimated federal tax expenditures, was an estimated $171.0 billion in FY 2003 (table A). In current dollars (i.e., before adjusting for inflation), this represents an increase of $108.2 billion, or 172 percent, since FY 1990. In constant dollars (i.e., after adjusting for inflation), federal support for education increased 102 percent between FY 1990 and FY 2003. For FY 2003, on-budget federal funds for education programs were estimated to be $124.7 billion, an increase of 142 percent since FY 1990 in current dollars or an increase of 79 percent after being adjusted for inflation. Off-budget support and nonfederal funds generated by federal legislation (predominantly postsecondary education loans) were estimated at $46.3 billion, a rise of 314 percent in current dollars between FY 1990 and FY 2003 and 207 percent in constant dollars. Department of Education outlays In FY 2003, Department of Education outlays totaled an estimated $57.4 billion (table B), reflecting an increase of 84 percent between FY 1990 and FY 2003, after being adjusted for inflation. The Department of Education's share of total federal on-budget education funds rose from 38 per- cent in FY 1980 to 45 percent in FY 1990 and then increased to 46 percent in FY 2003 (figure A). Recipients of federal education support Sixty percent of federal education support, excluding estimated federal tax expenditures, went to educational institutions in FY 2003. Twenty percent was used for student support. The remaining 20 percent went to banks and other lending agencies, libraries, museums, and federal institutions. Federal support for educational institutions Over 13 percent of school and college revenues in FY 2003 were from the federal government, with the remaining revenues coming from state and local governments, individuals, and private organizations and endowments. Of the estimated $769.5 billion in expenditures of schools and colleges in FY 2003, revenues from federal sources amounted to $102.8 billion and revenues from other sources amounted to $666.7 billion. The estimated federal share of expenditures of educational institutions declined from 14 percent in FY 1980 to 10 percent in FY 1990 and then increased to 13 percent in FY 2003. Among elementary and secondary educational institutions, the federal share declined from 12 percent in FY 1980 to 7 percent in FY 1990 and then increased to 10 percent in FY 2003. Among postsecondary institutions, the federal share declined from 18 percent in FY 1980 to 14 percent in FY 1990 and then rose to 19 percent in FY 2003. On-budget funds by education level or other educational purpose Between FY 1980 and FY 1990, after being adjusted for inflation, federal on-budget funds for elementary and secondary education decreased 12 percent; postsecondary education funds declined 22 percent (derived from table A); other education funds (which include funds for libraries, museums, cultural activities, and miscellaneous research) increased 39 percent; and funds for research at universities and university-administered research and development centers increased 39 percent. In the more recent period, between FY 1990 and FY 2003, federal on-budget funds for elementary and secondary education increased 101 percent in constant dollars, postsecondary education funds increased 59 percent, other education funds increased 44 percent, and research funds at colleges and universities increased 72 percent.
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Table A. Federal support across levels and other educational purposes: Selected years, 1980 to 2003
1Estimated. 2Off-budget support and nonfederal funds generated by federal legislation. NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Deputy Secretary, Budget Service, unpublished data, and National Center for Education Statistics, compiled from data appearing in U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, FYs 1982 to 2004 (selected years); National Science Foundation, Federal Funds for Research and Development, FYs 1980 to 2003 (selected years); and unpublished data from various federal agencies. (Originally published on page iv of the full report from which this article is excerpted.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Table B. Federal agencies providing the largest amounts of education program funds: Selected years, 1980 to 2003
1Estimated. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Deputy Secretary, Budget Service, unpublished data, and National Center for Education Statistics, compiled from data appearing in U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, FYs 1982 to 2004 (selected years); National Science Foundation, Federal Funds for Research and Development, FYs 1980 to 2003 (selected years); and unpublished data from various federal agencies. (Originally published on page iv of the full report from which this article is excerpted.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Figure A. Estimated federal on-budget funds for education, by agency: Fiscal year 2003  NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, compiled from data appearing in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2004; and National Science Foundation, Federal Funds for Research and Development, Fiscal Years 2001, 2002, and 2003. (Originally published as figure 2 on p. 7 of the full report from which this article is excerpted.)
Estimated federal tax expenditures Between FY 1980 and FY 1990, estimated federal tax expenditures, after being adjusted for inflation, decreased 9 percent; between FY 1990 and FY 2001, expenditures went up 68 percent. Hoffman, C. (2002). Federal Support for Education: Fiscal Years 1980 to 2002 (NCES 2003-006). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Snyder, T.D., and Hoffman, C.M. (2003). Digest of Education Statistics, 2002 (NCES 2003-060). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Footnotes * Some data have been revised from Federal Support for Education: Fiscal Years 1980 to 2002 (Hoffman 2002) and Digest of Education Statistics, 2002 (Snyder and Hoffman 2003). In addition to the data covering FY 1980 to FY 2003, appendix tables in the full report include historical data from FY 1965, FY 1970, and FY 1975.
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