Understanding the place that Direct Express® occupies in US government benefits distribution system and the place that the benefits distribution system occupies within the wider world of US government spending, requires an appreciation for fiscal data. Fortunately, a vast amount of fiscal data is made available to the general public by the U.S. Treasury via a dedicated open data website, fiscaldata.treasury.gov.
Likely to be of most interest to economists, analysts, and the media, the site includes “Your Guide to America’s Finances,” which provides an overview of U.S. government finances, including revenue, spending, the deficit, and government debt.
The guide explores each topic through educational content and interactive visualizations, providing a comprehensive overview of the trillions of dollars collected and spent by the federal government each year.
Source: US Treasury
Source: US TreasuryThose with an interest in the Direct Express® program should explore the section How much has the U.S. government spent this year? This explains the difference between mandatory, discretionary, and supplemental spending, and notes that per the Social Security Act, payments to beneficiaries, including via Direct Express®, are classified as mandatory spending and the government is required to provide payments to beneficiaries based on certain factors.
It also provides a graphic representation of U.S. government spending for the fiscal year to date (FYTD July 22, 2025).
Source: US Treasury
The page points interested parties to USAspending.gov for details on federal obligations broken down by budget function and object class, with specific agency detail provided at https://www.usaspending.gov/agency.
A list of those agencies that disburse benefits via Direct Express® can be found at our recent blog post: Federal Benefits Accessible by Direct Express®
Source: U.S. Treasury
