“The Congress faces an array of policy choices as it confronts the prospect of large annual budget deficits and further increases in the already-large government debt that are projected to occur in coming decades under current law. To help inform lawmakers about the budgetary implications of changing federal policies, CBO periodically issues volumes of policy options and their effects on the federal budget, of which this is the most recent. The agency also issues separate reports that present policy options in particular areas. This document provides estimates of the budgetary savings from 79 options that would decrease federal spending or increase federal revenues over the next decade. The estimates are updates of many of those presented in Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2014 to 2023 (November 2013). The options cover a broad range of areas in the federal budget, including defense, energy, Social Security, health care programs, other benefit programs, and provisions of the tax code. The budgetary effects identified for most of the options span the 10 years from 2015 to 2024 (the period covered by CBO’s baseline budget projections in 2014), although many of the options would have longer-term effects as well. This document presents options in the following categories:

• Mandatory spending other than that for health-related programs,
• Discretionary spending other than that for health-related programs,
• Revenues other than those related to health, and
• Health-related programs and revenue provisions.

For each option, this document includes a brief description of the policy involved. For additional information, including discussion of advantages and disadvantages, see the version of that option in the November 2013 volume.”