Federal spending · FY2025
Net Interest
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Fetching FY2025 File B line items, totals and analysis from the backend.
Fetching FY2025 File B line items, totals and analysis from the backend.
Net Interest represents the cost incurred by the federal government to service its outstanding debt obligations. This category is not a program in the traditional sense but a mandatory expenditure arising from past borrowing to finance budget deficits and fund government operations. The public purpose of incurring debt is to enable the government to provide public goods and services, respond to economic crises, or invest in long-term national priorities when current revenues are insufficient. Success is measured by the government's ability to meet its debt obligations reliably, maintaining the confidence of creditors and ensuring continued access to capital markets at reasonable rates. The primary steward is the Department of the Treasury, which manages the issuance of debt securities and the payment of interest. The core mission is to ensure the solvency and financial integrity of the U.S. government by meeting its financial commitments.
The problem
Past borrowing reduces future budget flexibility. CBO’s March 2025 outlook identified sustained deficits and rising interest as a long-term fiscal constraint. Interest pays existing financing costs instead of purchasing a new public service, so the corrective decision concerns future borrowing and the primary budget balance. Scope: A dated fiscal projection, not a claim that later policy changes were included or that interest payments are fraud.
The solution
Set a costed path for the primary deficit through explicit spending and revenue choices, compare their distributional effects, and stress-test debt service under higher rates. Pay existing obligations; refinancing is useful only when its full costs and risks improve the result. How this helps: Less avoidable interest can leave more money for services over time; existing interest still has to be paid. Protect people: Keep essential services safe and accessible. Test changes before expanding them, and reverse changes that harm access or shift costs to residents. Measure success: interest paid, savings after refinancing fees and affordable repayments.
Pays the financing cost of existing federal borrowing. It services debt rather than purchasing a new program or repaying principal.
How to read it: Tap a row to open what's inside. Colours match the chart above, and each row's share is its part of the row it sits under.
| Where it went | Gross outlays | Share | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1.2T97.2% | 97.2% | ||
| $34.6B2.8% | 2.8% |
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