March 7, 2005
• Congressman Jim Kolbe (R, Arizona 8th)
– Arizona Senate 1977-1983
– Elected to the U.S. House in 1984
– Chairs the Appropriations Foreign Ops
Subcommittee
– Key issues include trade, Social Security
reform, and Immigration Reform
• Appropriations/Authorizations politics
• Buying the Beretta
“The Congressional Budget
Process” from Congressional
Procedures and the Policy
Process
-Walter J. Oleszek
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Constitution
“The greatest power of the legislative branch is the
power of the purse” –Senator Robert Byrd
• Article I, Section 8: The Congress shall have
Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts
and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for
the common Defence and general Welfare of the
United States …To borrow Money on the credit
of the United States
• Article I Section 9: No Money shall be drawn
from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law
• Amendment XVI: The Congress shall have
power to lay and collect taxes on incomes
Phases of Federal Budgeting
1. Preparation and submission of budget by
President to Congress
2. Congressional review of President’s
budget and action on required budgetary
matters
3. Execution of budget-related laws by
federal departments and agencies
4. Audits of agency spending
Authorizations vs. Appropriations
Authorizations: establish, continue or modify
programs or policies
Appropriations: fund authorized programs and
policies
• Each Chamber has an Appropriations
Committee, and many Authorizing Committees
• NEW: The House has moved to 10
subcommittees, and the Senate to 12.
• Two stage process is not required by
Constitution
Types of Appropriations Bills
1. Annual (aka: regular or general)
•
13 annual appropriations bills
2. Supplemental: provide funding for
unexpected items
3. Continuing (aka: continuing resolutions):
provide funding for agencies that did not
receive an annual appropriation at the
beginning of the fiscal year
Budget Lexicon
• Discretionary Spending: spending that Congress
can control through the appropriations process
(35.9% of budget est. 2004)
• Direct Spending: primarily funds entitlement
funds; under the control of authorizing
committees (64.1% of budget est. 2004)
• Budget Authority: approval by Congress for the
government to spend money
• Budget Outlay: payment of money
• Earmark: recommendation that agencies should
spend funds on a specific purpose (“pork”)
Options for the Appropriations
Committee
1. Provide all the funds recommended in
the authorization bill
2. Propose reductions in the amounts
authorized
3. Refuse to fund
Implications
• Flexibility: Each Chamber can waive the
rules in the authorization-appropriations
procedure
• Bicameral Differences: Senate has more
flexibility than House
• Committee Rivalries: CONFLICT between
Authorizing and Appropriations
Committees
Exceptions to the Rules
• Limitation Riders: provisions that prevent
spending of funds for specific purposes
– Must not impose additional rules on executive branch
officials, interfere with discretionary authority or
require officials to make judgments not required by
existing law
• Germaneness: Senate rules require that
amendments to bill be germane
• Limits on Riders: House restricts opportunities
for members to offer limitation riders; Senate
reinstates rule making a point of order on
legislation in an Appropriations bill
1974 Budget Reform Act
• Creates House Budget and Senate Budget
Committees, and Congressional Budget
Office (CBO)
• Role of Budget Committees: preparing a
concurrent budget resolution, reviewing
impact of proposed legislation on federal
spending, overseeing CBO
• CBO: Congress’ primary source for
information to evaluate budget, tax and
spending proposals
Concurrent Budget Resolution
• Two Parts
– Fiscal Aggregates
– Subdivision of aggregates among 20
functional categories
• Sets overall discretionary spending for the
upcoming fiscal year
• Establishes context for budgeting: guides
actions of authorizing, appropriating and
taxing committees, outlines priorities
Resolving Conflict
• House and Senate must resolve
differences in budget resolutions in
conference committee
Reconciliation
•
•
Optional procedure that enables Congress
to implement comprehensive fiscal policy
by changing tax and entitlement laws
Process
1. Approval of budget resolution instructing House
and Senate committees to report legislation
making cuts in spending, increases in revenue
or both
2. Packaging the recommendations into a bill
followed by Floor action in each Chamber
•
Byrd Rule: reconciliation provisions must
reduce the deficit
Controls on Impoundments
• Title X: Permits Congress to review
executive impoundments
– Deferrals
– Rescissions
• 1996: Congress granted Line Item Veto
Act to strengthen President’s ability to
control spending
– Declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court
Points of Order on Budget
• Point of Order: notice that the process or
substance of a bill violates the rules of the
Chamber
– Procedural: raised to ensure compliance with
Budget Act of 1974
– Substantive: raised to ensure compliance with
the Budget Resolution
• House and Senate permit waivers on
points of order
Acts Affecting Budget Process
• 1985 Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act (Gramm-RudmanHollings)
– Established annual deficit reduction targets
• Budget Enforcement Act of 1990
– Set spending caps on discretionary spending
– Subject tax and entitlement programs to
PAYGO procedure
Credits
• Presentation based on: Oleszek, Walter J.,
Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process.
(Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2004) 39-75.
• Images from:
http://www.cqpress.com/product/CongressionalProcedures-and-the-Policy-2.html (Accessed 2/28/05);
www.cbo.gov ;
http://www.house.gov/kildee/images/ffeicon.gif
(Accessed 3/5/05)