Final answer:
Mandatory expenses in the budget include programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, veterans' benefits, the earned income tax credit, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps).
Step-by-step explanation:
The mandatory expenses in the budget include programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, veterans' benefits, the earned income tax credit, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps).
These programs are part of the mandatory spending category because Congress is required by law to spend money on them.
In the 2020 budget, mandatory spending accounted for about $4.9 trillion, or roughly 71 percent of all federal expenditures.