Federal government spends $332B on 'zombie programs' never reauthorized by Congress

The federal government spends more than $332 billion on expired programs that Congress never reauthorized.

A total of 1,046 federal programs have expired but have continued to operate on autopilot without reauthorization from Congress, costing $332 billion, according to a Congressional Budget Office report from 2020. These expired programs came from 272 separate laws. That’s an increase from 971 programs in 2019 at a cost of $306 billion measured by the CBO.   And it’s not limited to obscure programs.