What does the do?

Updated annually

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent federal agency responsible for protecting whistleblowers and other federal employees. The OSC prohibits retaliation on whistleblowers and enforces rules against other federal employee actions, including restricting partisan political activity by certain government employees via the Hatch Act. It was established in 1979.

In FY 2024,

$35M

was spent by the Office of Special Counsel
In FY 2024,

<0.1%

of federal spending was by the Office of Special Counsel

How much does the Office of Special Counsel spend?

The Office of Special Counsel spent $35 million in fiscal year (FY) 2024. This was 0.00052% of the $6.78 trillion in overall federal spending. The department ranked 89th among federal agencies in total spending.

The Office of Special Counsel accounted for <0.1% of all federal spending in FY 2024.

Share of OSC net spending compared to the top ten highest spending agencies in FY 2024

Federal spending may shift over time due to population growth, changes in policy and programs, and emerging problems to address. Adjusting for inflation, the Office of Special Counsel’s federal spending has increased from $13 million in 1989 to $35 million in 2024.

The Office of Special Counsel’s federal spending in FY 2024 was higher than in FY 1989.

Yearly federal net spending by OSC, adjusted for inflation (2024 dollars), FYs 1989–2024

Since 1989, the Office of Special Counsel's spending has increased 170.1%, while overall spending has increased 132.2%.
The department’s spending grew more than overall spending, which means that the department’s share of the federal budget increased. In 2024, OSC accounted for 0.00052% of all federal spending. That’s 0.00005 percentage points lower than 2014 and 0.000072 points higher than in 1989.
Major legislation, internal or global economic conditions, and acute events like the COVID-19 pandemic can affect spending year to year. For example, the federal budget fluctuated during the pandemic, rising from $5.3 trillion (in 2023 dollars) in 2019 to $7.7 trillion in 2020 and $7.8 trillion in 2021.

The Office of Special Counsel's share of federal spending in FY 2024 was higher than in FY 1989.

Percentage of federal budget dedicated to OSC, FYs 1989–2024

Most federal spending can be categorized as direct or indirect. Direct spending refers to money the federal government spends on budget items such as federal programs, employee salaries, and debt interest. Indirect spending refers to federal transfers to state and local governments.
In FY 2024, all of the Office of Special Counsel's spending was direct.
The chart below outlines all net OSC spending.

How did the Office of Special Counsel spend its budget in 2024?

Federal government net spending isolated to OSC, FY 2024

Who leads the United States Office of Special Counsel?

OSC is led by the special counsel, who is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.