Fox's Varney Claims Historically Low Discretionary Spending Is "Out Of Control"

Media Matters

Fox News host Stuart Varney claimed that federal discretionary spending is "out of control." In fact, discretionary spending has already been reduced by $1.5 trillion, and non-defense discretionary spending is projected to be at the lowest level in 50 years.

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VARNEY: I'll tell you where we start -- Senator Landrieu is wrong. She says discretionary spending is not out of control. I'm sorry senator, it is totally out of control. We spent a trillion dollars on this discretionary spending in the year 2011. And it's going to go up 80 percent in the next 10 years. Food stamps spending, doubled. That's discretionary spending. What else do we have? Medicaid, up 37 percent in the last 3 years. Out of control spending. The senator is flat-out wrong. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/30/13]

Varney's Examples Of Medicaid And Food Stamps Are Mandatory Spending, Not Discretionary Spending. A Congressional Research Service report on mandatory spending since 1962 explains the difference between mandatory spending, which includes Medicaid and food stamps, and discretionary spending, which includes defense:

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The stupid never ends over at FOX news.