Similar to how people create a budget to keep track of their finances and manage spending, the United States federal government does too. Each year in early spring, the President will release their proposed federal budget for the upcoming year to Congress. The fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. This proposed budget, known as the federal budget, will be edited once it is sent to Congress, but it is important because it lays out the President’s priorities for the upcoming year. The budget can be broken down into three main categories: 1) Mandatory Spending. This category is the majority of the budget and is dominated by earned-benefit or entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. The spending levels for these programs are generally determined by eligibility rules, which include factors such as age, earnings or qualifying disability. The recommendation by the White House for mandatory spending therefore does not typically include binding funding limits. Congress decides this part of the budget separately from the following categories by reviewing eligibility rules of specific programs, which in turn can increase or decrease this part of the budget based on who is eligible (1). 2) Discretionary Spending.This category is broken into two smaller categories, Defense and Non-Defense Discretionary. The Discretionary Spending category is determined by Congress each year through the annual appropriations process, which is described in detail below. Appropriations refers to the sum of money the President and Congress agree upon for a specific part of the budget. Discretionary spending incorporates everything from military programs (Defense) to the amount of money that is put toward funding science (Non-Defense), among many other things. 3) Interest on National Debt. This category makes up the final percentages of the budget. This amounts to the interest the government pays on the country’s accumulated debt, minus the interest income received by the government on assets it owns. The current national debt is about $28 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the 2021 national debt will total $2.3 trillion for the year. Together, mandatory spending and discretionary spending account for ~90% of the overall budget each year (1). For the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, the federal budget totaled $4.8 trillion, and revenues brought in $3.4 trillion. FY2021 proposed budget totaled $4.8 trillion (2), and the percent originally allocated to each main category in the proposed budget is shown in the pie chart below. The FY2021 budget was ultimately passed as a $2.3 trillion consolidated spending bill on December 27, 2020 (3). This Bill contained $900 billion in COVID-19 relief in addition to an omnibus spending Bill, which we describe in more detail below. The FY2022 Discretionary Request was released by the White House on April 9, 2021 (4). The full budget request should be made public soon. Next week, we will highlight the main components of the Discretionary Request for some of the science-related Agencies. This is important for anyone interested in science because the budget directly impacts how much money will be available for directly funding scientific innovation. If you’re interested in reading more about funding for science and science-focused engagement, check out a great resource by Hetherington & Phillips 2018 (5) The federal budget and appropriations process happens in three stages: 1) Budget formation by the White House (typically, July-February) 2) Legislative process in Congress (March-June) 3) Finalization of spending levels in Congress (July-October) The purpose of the proposed budget is to recommend amounts of government spending for public purposes, amount that should be received from tax revenues, and the surplus between the two (1). Typically, federal spending exceeds the amount taken in from tax revenues. This results in a deficit for the year and contributes to the overall national debt (6). The budget formation process begins in the Executive Branch with a collaborative effort between federal agencies and the Office of the President. The President’s Office of Management budget (often referred to as OMB) provides guidance for levels of funding and priorities to federal agencies, which in turn have to propose budgets within those guidelines. Using the proposed budgets from federal agencies, the OMB then makes final decisions to form a proposed, all-encompassing federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget request should be submitted to Congress by the first Monday in February. However, this process can be delayed if Congress has delayed action on the prior year’s budget or oftentimes when a new administration is transitioning. For example, the Biden Administration released their proposed FY2022 discretionary request on April 9 this year. Once Congress receives the budget request, the House of Representatives and the Senate independently review it. Each chamber creates a resolution to cap overall spending on the Discretionary portion of the budget. From there, a mixed bi-partisan committee of House and Senate members resolves differences between the two resolutions. The House and Senate then divide the resolved Discretionary budget outlined by the resolution among their 12 subcommittees. These 12 subcommittees draft their own appropriations bill which allows them to set the funding for each agency (NASA, USGS, NOAA, etc.) within their individual scope. For example, the Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee would draft a bill to set the spending limit on NASA and other agencies within their scope, but would not set a limit on any agency in the Energy and Water Development subcommittee. The 12 subcommittees are:
Once each subcommittee creates their appropriations bill, it will undergo a vote by members of the House/Senate (wherever it was drafted). Once voted on and passed, all 12 bills from the House and 12 bills from the Senate will go back to the mixed bi-partisan committee of House and Senate members to consolidate and agree. The resolved appropriations bills then go to the President to be signed into law. Ideally, this all happens before October 1st. If it doesn’t, a government shutdown would begin. Benefits
The budget has to be agreed upon by Congress regardless of political party, which requires collaboration and working across the aisle. Additionally, a balanced federal budget is essential for avoiding excessive spending, and allows Congress to target areas that are in need. Typically, the budget reflects the values and priorities of society. Challenges It can be very difficult to get the House and Senate to agree - since 2010 the two chambers haven’t easily come to a conclusion. If October 1 comes around and the President hasn’t signed a new budget into law for the coming year, many government services stop. If Congress can’t agree on a single budget to pass to the President, an Omnibus bill can be passed by Congress, which includes multiple funding areas. This can be passed into law and serve as a budget for the coming year. The national debt is extremely high and continues to grow as revenue is typically less than spending. Footnotes:
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Enacting laws is an incremental process (most of which occurs in the background) that takes place in a consensus-driven environment. We, as constituents, can and should be involved at any stage. Our Congresspeople represent us, but they can only do so if we voice our values, and share our expertise.
In order to advocate for legislation, though, it is important to understand how the process works. Congress is the Legislative branch that is responsible for crafting and enacting federal laws. The two legislative bodies within the Congress are the Senate (50 elected members, 2 from each state) and the House of Representatives (435 elected members, 1 from each Congressional district allocated to each state based on population as defined by the U.S. Census). A bill, which is a proposal for a new law, can be introduced by any member of Congress to their respective chamber. A bill must be introduced by a member of Congress, but the idea for a bill can start with anyone! Policy can be in the developmental stage for years prior to being introduced in either of the Chambers. Once a bill is introduced, it is placed in a wooden box called the bill hopper where it is assigned a legislative number before the Speaker of the House assigns it to a subcommittee (1). Numbers are assigned based on when the bill is introduced, and at the beginning of each new Congress (every 2 years), the group starts fresh and bill numbers are reset to 1. Even if a bill was already in debate by the House or Senate, it will have to be reintroduced at the start of each new Congress and assigned a new number. Once in a subcommittee, Representatives or Senators debate and amend the bill before voting on it. A vote can either defeat the piece of legislation, table it for later, or pass it to the House or Senate Floor for a debate. If it is passed within the subcommittee, members of the full House or Senate then read it and propose changes or amendments before holding a floor vote. If a simple majority (over 50%) votes to pass the bill, then it is sent to the other chamber, where it undergoes the same process, and both chambers have to agree on an identical version of the bill before it goes to the President. The bill can fail at any point during this process when a vote is held. Once (if) a bill is agreed on by both chambers, it is sent to the President. The President can 1) veto the bill, 2) decide to take no action 3) pocket veto the bill, and 4) sign the bill into law. A veto is when the President rejects the bill, and it is returned to Congress with the reasons for rejection detailed. At this time, Congress can override the veto with a supermajority (⅔) vote, and still pass the bill into law. If the President chooses to take no action and Congress is in session, after 10 days the bill automatically becomes law. A pocket veto occurs when the President decides to take no action and Congress is adjourned (out of session). After 10 days in this scenario, if the President does not sign it, the bill does not become law. Just to highlight the complexity of this process, during the 116th Congress (2019-2021), out of 16,601 pieces of legislation that were introduced, only 2% of bills and 4% of resolutions that were introduced were adopted (2). In addition to bills becoming laws through the process described above, the President can also take actions such as Executive Orders, Presidential Memoranda, and Presidential Proclamations (3). Of these, Executive Orders (EOs) hold the power of a law, and can be used to create organizations or issue other federal directives. They must cite the specific authority the President has to make the EO, and must be published in the Federal Register. Presidential Memoranda are similar to EOs in that they also hold the power of law, but don’t require publishing in the Federal Register. They are typically used to delegate tasks, start a regulatory process, or direct an agency to action. Through Presidential Proclamations, communication of information about holidays, special observances, trade, and policy occurs. Proclamations from 1994 to the present are available for download online (4). It is important to note that while the process detailed above highlights the federal legislative process, the same process occurs at the state level, and advocacy is still an essential component. Interested in advocating? Learn more about legislation you care about and what stage it’s at by checking out congress.gov and govtrack.us, and check out our Resources page to learn more about easy ways to voice your values to your legislators! Footnotes: (1) Subcommittee: A smaller group within a Senate or House committee that takes on some of the work from the main committee. https://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/subcommittee.htm#:~:text=subcommittee%20%2D%20Subunit%20of%20a%20committee,for%20more%20than%203%20days (2) https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/statistics (3) https://www.usa.gov/how-laws-are-made#item-35862 (4) https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/proclamations |