Include spending category fields for /api/v2/spending

[kylie-taitano]

I'm interested in using your API to visualize the categories of the federal budget. Is there already an existing way to categorize the values returned by this API into Mandatory vs Discretionary buckets? I downloaded the reduced PostgreSQL archive to see if there were any columns that I'd be able to use to associate the budget functions to a spending category, but I didn't find anything that we could use. Thanks!

[lisaam]

We do not have a data element that identifies Mandatory vs Discretionary spending.

We have several API endpoints at https://api.usaspending.gov/docs/endpoints related to budget functions, using https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-05-734sp.pdf as a reference.

[Lyrratic]

Hello! Following up on this (I'm working with Kylie on our visualization project), if we'd like to contribute back by adding mandatory/discretionary breakdowns into the tables by function or subfunction, do you know how we would we go about doing that? Thank you!

[kylie-taitano]

Hi @lisaam! Just wanted to follow up on this - does the fed spending team allow community contributions to this project?

[lisaam]

It depends. If it's a code change to improve something, we may incorporate that change. However, a data element change, like adding a field to indicate mandatory or discretionary spending, needs coordination with the 90+ agencies that report data to USAspending.gov and an authoritative government source.