In Brief

According to projections from the Congressional Budget Office, the federal entitlement programs—Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare— represent nearly 45% of federal spending and cost as much as 10% of the GDP, which, if unchanged, will grow to 16% by 2035. As Congress looks for ways to decrease the budget deficit, it is likely that these programs will face reforms and benefit cuts. Brookings experts discuss what cuts may look like, and examine the role these programs play in the growing budget deficit.