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Budget & Money

Appropriations, the budget process, the debt ceiling, shutdowns, and where federal dollars come from and go.

Appropriations
The laws that actually let the government spend money, and the constitutional rule that nothing can be spent without one
Authorization vs. Appropriation
The two-step process in which Congress first authorizes a program and sets its rules, then separately appropriates the money to pay for it
Budget Resolutions
The concurrent resolution in which Congress sets overall spending and revenue targets for the year and can unlock the fast-track reconciliation process
Continuing Resolutions
The stopgap spending laws that keep the government open when the regular appropriations bills are late, which is nearly every year
Earmarks
Provisions in spending bills that direct money to specific projects requested by individual members of Congress, banned in 2011 and restored with new rules in 2021
Entitlement Programs
Federal programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid that pay benefits automatically to everyone who qualifies, making up the bulk of mandatory spending
Federal Grants to States
The more than $1 trillion a year that the federal government sends to state and local governments for health care, transportation, education, and other programs, and the conditions attached
Federal Taxation
How the federal government raises revenue, from individual income and payroll taxes to corporate taxes, excise taxes, and tariffs, and how tax law is written
Government Contracting and Procurement
How the federal government buys more than $700 billion a year in goods and services from private companies, under rules meant to ensure competition and fair dealing
Government Shutdowns
What happens when appropriations lapse: furloughs, closed parks, and essential work done without pay
Impoundment and Rescissions
The President's refusal to spend money Congress has appropriated, and the 1974 law that requires Congress to approve any permanent cancellation of funds
Mandatory vs. Discretionary Spending
Why most federal spending is never voted on in the annual budget, and what the yearly fight is actually about
Sequestration
Automatic, across-the-board spending cuts triggered when Congress exceeds budget limits, used as an enforcement mechanism since 1985
Supplemental Appropriations
Additional spending bills passed during the fiscal year for needs not covered by regular appropriations, such as disasters, wars, and economic emergencies
The Debt Ceiling
The statutory limit on how much the Treasury may borrow to pay bills Congress has already approved
The Federal Budget Process
How a roughly seven trillion dollar budget is proposed, debated, and enacted each year, at least on paper
The Federal Deficit and Debt
The yearly gap between spending and revenue, the accumulated debt it creates, and why both are growing
The Federal Fiscal Year
The federal government's budget year, which runs from October 1 to September 30 and sets the deadline for passing annual appropriations
The President's Budget
The annual spending and revenue proposal the President sends to Congress, prepared by the Office of Management and Budget, which opens each year's budget process
The Social Security Trust Funds
The two Treasury accounts that hold Social Security's payroll tax surpluses in special government bonds, and the projections of when their reserves will run out
The Twelve Appropriations Bills
The annual spending bills, one for each Appropriations subcommittee, that fund the discretionary operations of every federal agency