Name ____________________
AP U.S. Government & Politics
Unit 6: Public Policy
WEBQUEST: The National Debt and Federal Budget
Directions There is a copy of this assignment on blackboard under “assignments”. You may complete this electronically and submit to student portal on ASPEN OR you may turn in a hard copy. Due ____
Part I: Use the links below to answer the questions on the national debt
Federal Government Debt Clock
State of Virginia Debt Clock
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/ (“The Debt to the Penny”)
NPR story on the REAL national debt amount
CBS News: Debt under Obama
Calculate YOUR national debt "receipt" (White House website)
New York Times info on the "debt ceiling"
Wall Street Journal Debt to GDP ratio chart
Questions about the national debt
1. What is our current federal debt?
2. By approx. how much is the federal debt increasing per second? ________ Per day? ____ ____How much is each citizen’s share of the federal debt? _______________
3. What is the debt in the state of Virginia? __________ How much does each Virginia citizen owe towards the state debt? __________
4. According to the NPR story, what is the “real” national debt amount? _____________________________
5. The national debt now exceeds ______________ of the nation’s ________________________________
6. By how much is the national debt expected to increase under Obama’s administration, if he wins re-election? ______________________
7. Compare the White House’s analysis of the national debt between 2001 and 2013
8. On the White House website, calculate your 2011 federal taxpayer receipt ________________________
9. Summarize the New York Times short article on the debt ceiling
10. As of 2013, list the national debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio for the following countries:
United States ___________
China _________________
Nigeria ________________
Singapore ______________
Saudi Arabia ____________
Mexico _________________
Chile ___________________
Canada _________________
Part II: Federal Budget
A) Go to: http://congress.indiana.edu/interactive-learning-modules Click on Federal Budget Allocation Activity and complete the simulation. Describe what you learned and how well you did.
**Note: Bolded items below I would like you to memorize**
B) Go to: National Priorities Project - Bringing the Federal Budget Home Answer the following questions:
1. How much is the government planning to spend in fiscal year 2013? ___________________
2. Go to Federal Budget Process. Summarize the 5 key steps in the federal budget process
Step 1 ____________________________________________________________
Step 2 _____________________________________________________________
Step 3 _____________________________________________________________
Step 4 _____________________________________________________________
Step 5 _____________________________________________________________
3. When does fiscal year 2013 start and end? ____________________________________
4. Define “appropriations process”: __________________________________________________________
5. Define “budget resolution”: ______________________________________________________________
6. Define “appropriations bill”: ______________________________________________________________
7. What is a “continuing resolution”? _________________________________________________________
8. Go to Where Does the Money Come From? How much total federal tax revenue is expected for FY 2013? ______________________
9. What are the three BIGGEST sources of federal tax revenues?
10. How much money is the federal government expected to borrow in FY 2013? ______________________
11. Go to Where Does the Money Go? Define the 3 types of federal government spending and list the percentages for each one.
12. What is the largest mandatory federal spending program? ____________________________________
13. What are the three biggest categories in the “President’s Proposed Total Spending” pie chart and the percentages for each one?
14. Go to Borrowing and the Federal Debt. Define “surplus”, “deficit”, and “federal debt”
15. Look at the “Deficits and Surpluses” graph. When was the last time the federal government had a SURPLUS? ______________
16. What is the debt held by the public? _________________________________________Who holds approximately half of this debt? ____________________________________________Which country holds the most? ______________________________
17. What is the debt held by federal accounts? ________________________________________________
18. Define the “debt ceiling” ___________________________________________________________ What is the current debt ceiling as of August 2011? ___________________________________________
C) Go to National Priorities Project - Interactive Activities.
- Use the Tax Chart activity to find out how the federal government spent your tax dollars (use the ? button to estimate how much you would have paid in taxes).
- Play the Build a Better Budget Game. How well did you do with your proposed budget?
D) Go to Washington Post - Federal Government Spending Interactive Graph
1. What percentage of the federal budget did the federal government spend in each of the following categories in the year 2009?
Discretionary Spending
1)Department of Defense __________ 11) Dept of Interior _________
2)Department of Justice ___________ 12) Dept of State ___________
3)Department of Agriculture _______ 13) Dept of Treasury_________
4)Department of Commerce ________ 14) Dept of Veterans Affairs ________
5)Department of Education _________
6)Dept of Health and Human Services ______ Mandatory Spending
7)Department of Transportation __________ 16) Social Security __________
8)Department of Urban Development ______ 17) Medicaid _______________
9)Department of Labor __________ 18) Interest on Debt __________
10)Department of Energy _________ 19) Other mandatory __________
2. In which years did the US Government have a deficit? In which years did the US Government have a surplus?
AP U.S. Government & Politics
Unit 6: Public Policy
WEBQUEST: The National Debt and Federal Budget
Directions There is a copy of this assignment on blackboard under “assignments”. You may complete this electronically and submit to student portal on ASPEN OR you may turn in a hard copy. Due ____
Part I: Use the links below to answer the questions on the national debt
Federal Government Debt Clock
State of Virginia Debt Clock
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/ (“The Debt to the Penny”)
NPR story on the REAL national debt amount
CBS News: Debt under Obama
Calculate YOUR national debt "receipt" (White House website)
New York Times info on the "debt ceiling"
Wall Street Journal Debt to GDP ratio chart
Questions about the national debt
1. What is our current federal debt?
2. By approx. how much is the federal debt increasing per second? ________ Per day? ____ ____How much is each citizen’s share of the federal debt? _______________
3. What is the debt in the state of Virginia? __________ How much does each Virginia citizen owe towards the state debt? __________
4. According to the NPR story, what is the “real” national debt amount? _____________________________
5. The national debt now exceeds ______________ of the nation’s ________________________________
6. By how much is the national debt expected to increase under Obama’s administration, if he wins re-election? ______________________
7. Compare the White House’s analysis of the national debt between 2001 and 2013
8. On the White House website, calculate your 2011 federal taxpayer receipt ________________________
9. Summarize the New York Times short article on the debt ceiling
10. As of 2013, list the national debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio for the following countries:
United States ___________
China _________________
Nigeria ________________
Singapore ______________
Saudi Arabia ____________
Mexico _________________
Chile ___________________
Canada _________________
Part II: Federal Budget
A) Go to: http://congress.indiana.edu/interactive-learning-modules Click on Federal Budget Allocation Activity and complete the simulation. Describe what you learned and how well you did.
**Note: Bolded items below I would like you to memorize**
B) Go to: National Priorities Project - Bringing the Federal Budget Home Answer the following questions:
1. How much is the government planning to spend in fiscal year 2013? ___________________
2. Go to Federal Budget Process. Summarize the 5 key steps in the federal budget process
Step 1 ____________________________________________________________
Step 2 _____________________________________________________________
Step 3 _____________________________________________________________
Step 4 _____________________________________________________________
Step 5 _____________________________________________________________
3. When does fiscal year 2013 start and end? ____________________________________
4. Define “appropriations process”: __________________________________________________________
5. Define “budget resolution”: ______________________________________________________________
6. Define “appropriations bill”: ______________________________________________________________
7. What is a “continuing resolution”? _________________________________________________________
8. Go to Where Does the Money Come From? How much total federal tax revenue is expected for FY 2013? ______________________
9. What are the three BIGGEST sources of federal tax revenues?
10. How much money is the federal government expected to borrow in FY 2013? ______________________
11. Go to Where Does the Money Go? Define the 3 types of federal government spending and list the percentages for each one.
12. What is the largest mandatory federal spending program? ____________________________________
13. What are the three biggest categories in the “President’s Proposed Total Spending” pie chart and the percentages for each one?
14. Go to Borrowing and the Federal Debt. Define “surplus”, “deficit”, and “federal debt”
15. Look at the “Deficits and Surpluses” graph. When was the last time the federal government had a SURPLUS? ______________
16. What is the debt held by the public? _________________________________________Who holds approximately half of this debt? ____________________________________________Which country holds the most? ______________________________
17. What is the debt held by federal accounts? ________________________________________________
18. Define the “debt ceiling” ___________________________________________________________ What is the current debt ceiling as of August 2011? ___________________________________________
C) Go to National Priorities Project - Interactive Activities.
- Use the Tax Chart activity to find out how the federal government spent your tax dollars (use the ? button to estimate how much you would have paid in taxes).
- Play the Build a Better Budget Game. How well did you do with your proposed budget?
D) Go to Washington Post - Federal Government Spending Interactive Graph
1. What percentage of the federal budget did the federal government spend in each of the following categories in the year 2009?
Discretionary Spending
1)Department of Defense __________ 11) Dept of Interior _________
2)Department of Justice ___________ 12) Dept of State ___________
3)Department of Agriculture _______ 13) Dept of Treasury_________
4)Department of Commerce ________ 14) Dept of Veterans Affairs ________
5)Department of Education _________
6)Dept of Health and Human Services ______ Mandatory Spending
7)Department of Transportation __________ 16) Social Security __________
8)Department of Urban Development ______ 17) Medicaid _______________
9)Department of Labor __________ 18) Interest on Debt __________
10)Department of Energy _________ 19) Other mandatory __________
2. In which years did the US Government have a deficit? In which years did the US Government have a surplus?