The Budget of the United States Government is legislation in the form of a concurrent resolution that sets establishes a budget for the federal government of the United States.[1] The budget resolution sets various budget totals and divides the spending into functional categories, like agriculture or defense spending.[1] Overall, the budget resolution is a financial blueprint that demonstrates Congress's spending priorities and is used to guide the decisions of the authorizing, appropriating, and tax committees.[2]

The budget resolution often begins as the President's proposal to the U.S. Congress which recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year. The fiscal year of the federal government is the 12-month period beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30 of the next calendar year.[3] Congress can, and often does, work on its own proposals independently of the President. The budget resolution is under the jurisdiction of the United States House Committee on the Budget and the United States Senate Committee on the Budget.[4] Because the budget resolution is a concurrent resolution, it is not signed by the President and "does not have statutory effect; no money can be raised or spent pursuant to it."[5]

Congressional decisions about the budget resolution are governed by rules and legislation regarding the federal budget process. Budget committees set spending limits for the House and Senate committees and for Appropriations subcommittees, which then approve individual appropriations bills to allocate funding to various federal programs. The House rules allow the House to being considering appropriation bills after May 15 whether a budget resolution has been agreed to or not.[4] It is the twelve appropriation bills that need to be enacted by October 1 in order to fund the government, regardless of whether a budget resolution is ever agreed to in Congress.[6]

Several government agencies provide budget data and analysis. These include the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Treasury Department. These agencies have reported that the federal government is facing a series of important long-run financing challenges, primarily driven by healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, which are projected to grow faster than the economy overall as the population matures. In the short-term, deficits are projected to return to their historical average relative to the size of the economy by 2014.[7]

references

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  1. ^ a b "Senate Glossary - Budget Resolution". United States Senate. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  2. ^ Oleszek, Walter J. (2008). Congressional procedures and the policy process (7. ed., [Nachdr.]. ed.). Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. p. 62. ISBN 9780872893030.
  3. ^ Heniff Jr., Bill (26 November 2012). "Basic Federal Budgeting Terminology" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b Oleszek, Walter J. (2008). Congressional procedures and the policy process (7. ed., [Nachdr.]. ed.). Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. p. 61. ISBN 9780872893030.
  5. ^ Bill Heniff Jr. "Introduction to the Federal Budget Process" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. pp. Summary. Retrieved 12 February 2014. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Tollestrup, Jessica (23 February 2012). "The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. p. 12. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  7. ^ CBO Budget and Economic Outlook 2014 to 2024-February 2014
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