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What does the Education Department do?  

The Department of Education is the smallest cabinet-level agency and also one of the newest (founded in May 1980). Education is primarily a local and state responsibility, with local governments funding elementary and secondary schools and state governments funding much of higher education. Still, the department’s budget makes up [21% of education spending nationwide]([link removed]).  

- The Education Department received $268.35 billion in 2024; 4% of the federal budget, the sixth-most among federal agencies. 

[Expenses for education department sub-agences]([link removed])

- More than half the Education Department's budget, $160.69 billion, was spent on student aid. It spent just over half that much, $82.99 billion, on elementary and secondary schools. 

- Federal Pell Grants, which largely support undergraduates, are providing up to $7,395 per recipient this school year. Overall funding averages $30 billion annually. 

- Some of the money the department provided for elementary and secondary education in 2023 included more than $18 billion in Title I funding for low-income schools. Another $15 billion went to special education programs. 

- Meanwhile, the department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services provides grants for state vocational rehabilitation programs to help adults with disabilities find jobs. These grants average $4 billion annually. 

[Follow the numbers]([link removed])

How has online shopping changed the retail industry? 

Today is Cyber Monday, and while this day of online shopping might not be the "event" that it used to be, that's likely because online shopping has become such a common part of Americans’ lives. Case in point: in 2023, [e-commerce hit record highs]([link removed]).  

- In 2000, $0.90 of every $100 Americans spent on retail items was spent online. In 2023, that average rose to $15.30. 

[Chart showing ecommerce retail sales as a percentage of total sales]([link removed])

- Americans spent $1.1 trillion on online shopping in 2023, comprising a record 15.3% of all retail sales, up from 14.4% in 2022. 

- Online retail has grown 220% since 2009, the most growth of any retail subsector. 

- Non-store retail, which includes an array of non-brick-and-mortar retailers ranging from vending machines to online sellers, accounted for $1.4 trillion in sales in 2023 — 19% of total retail sales. 

- The retail industry overall employed 16.4 million people in 2023, up 7% from a 2010 low after the Great Recession. The most growth was in motor vehicle dealers (up 24%) and building material suppliers (up 23%). Employment in the electronics and appliance retail industries dropped. 

[Explore the data]([link removed])

Data behind the news

With talk of trade and tariffs in the news, [here’s a primer on the nation’s top trading partners]([link removed]). 
 
Last Wednesday, the governor of Ohio signed a bill limiting transgender restroom use. Following the recent election of a transgender member to the House of Representatives, another member has introduced a resolution addressing bathroom policies. [Here’s how many US adults identify as transgender]([link removed]). 
 
You know what time it is: it’s [weekly fact quiz time]([link removed])!  

One last fact

[Map of US military spending compared to other countries]([link removed])

The United States has the world’s third-largest military but the [highest military spending]([link removed]). It spent $820.3 billion on the military in 2023, roughly 13% of that year’s federal budget. 
 
US military spending per person ranks fifth globally, behind the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. 

 

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