Finally, putting together discretionary spending, mandatory spending, and interest on the debt, you can see how the total federal budget is divided into different categories of spending. This pie chart shows the breakdown $3.8 trillion in combined discretionary, mandatory, and interest spending budgeted by Congress in fiscal year 2015.
o Federal Election Commission (FEC) â the federal agency that regulates campaign donations to and spending by candidates for Congress and the presidency Some regulations limit the amount an individual or organization can give to a political campaign; others prohibit certain kinds of organizations, such as corporations and unions, from contributing directly to candidates or parties Individual donors can get around many of these legal restrictions by setting up PACs or acting as âbundlers ...
Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are prohibited from donating money directly to political candidates, and their spending must not be coordinated with that of the candidates they benefit. Super PACs are required to report their donors to the Federal Election Commission on a monthly or semiannual basis â the super PAC's choice â in off-years, and monthly in the year of an election. As of January 31, 2018, 1,798 groups organized as super PACs have reported total receipts of $163,610,529 and total independent expenditures of $37,073,022 in the 2018 cycle.