Budget Issues: Trust Funds and Their Relationship to the Federal Budget

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the budget status of trust funds, specifically: (1) what distinguishes trust fund receipts from other receipts in the federal government's accounts; (2) whether the government should use trust fund balances to finance programs and deficits in non-trust-fund parts of the budget; (3) how trust funds should be treated for budget purposes; and (4) identifying on-budget and off-budget trust funds, along with the receipts, outlays, and balances of each for the most recently completed fiscal year (FY).