The US Federal Budget – Part 1 – The Process

Appendix 1 – Reference Links and Glossary

The definitions in this Appendix are based on (or obtained from) the following sources. Definitions copied verbatim are enclosed in parenthesis.  

Reference Links/Listings

Ref1: Intro to Federal Budget Process – CRS – R46240

Ref2: Intro to the Federal Budget Process – CBPP 

Ref3: Common Budgetary Terms Explained – CBO – 57660

Ref4: Glossary of Terms – Federal Budget Process – GAO-05-734SP 

Ref5: US House of Rep. Glossary of Terms – house.gov

Ref6: Appropriations Process 101 – crfb.org

Ref7: Reflections on the Congressional Budget Act – americanprogress.org

Ref8: The Office of the Parliamentarian in the House and Senate

Ref9:  Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate

Ref10: Whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11 Budget Prep Agency Guidance

Ref11:  Introduction to Budget Authority – CRS – IF12105

Ref12: Appropriations Committee description at senate.gov

Ref13:  Obamawhitehouse.archives.gov Functional Classifications

Ref14: Democrats-budget.house.gov Functions

Ref15: Continuing Resolution Overview CRS-R46595

Ref16: CBO-Historical Budget Data-Files

Ref17: OMB-Historical Tables 1.1 – 16.2

Ref18: OMB – Analyt. Persp. Section-Budget Auth. & Outlays by Funct. Cat. & Prog. Table

Ref19: OASI-ssa.gov

Ref20: DI-ssa.gov

Ref21: IRS FICA Description

Ref22: What is Medicare – medicare.gov

Ref23: Medicare parts – ssa.gov

Ref24: Medicare Funding – medicare.gov

Ref25: Federal Excise Taxes-CRS-R43189/4

Ref26: Federal Budget Trust Funds – GAO-01-199sp

Definitions

302 (Section 302 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974)

• Ref6: crfb.org: “The … budget resolution … includes what is known as a 302(a) allocation that sets a total amount of money for the Appropriations Committees to spend. For example, the conferenced budget between the House and Senate set the 302(a) limit for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 at $1.017 trillion…Once they receive 302(a) allocations, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees set 302(b) allocations to divide total appropriations among the 12 subcommittees dealing with different parts of the budget.”
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “…pertains to the distribution to House and Senate committees of new budget authority, entitlement authority, and outlays agreed to in a budget resolution. The allocation is usually included in the joint explanatory statement that accompanies the conference report on a budget resolution. 
• Section_302(a) requires the allocation of the total spending in the budget resolution among the committees having jurisdiction over either direct or discretionary spending. When a budget resolution has not been adopted, the House and Senate (separately or jointly) may use some other means to establish committee allocations.
• Section_302(b) further requires the Appropriations Committee in each chamber to subdivide this total allocation among their subcommittees.
• Section_302(f) establishes a point of order against the consideration of a bill, amendment thereto, or conference thereon that would breach the appropriate 302(a) (or 302(b)) amount for the committee (or subcommittee).”

Antideficiency Act (1870 and later)

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “The Antideficiency Act consists of provisions of law that were passed by the Congress (beginning in the nineteenth century and later codified in Title 31 of the United States Code) to prevent departments and agencies from spending their entire appropriations during the first few months of the year. The Act prohibits…Federal employee from: (a) Entering into contracts that exceed the enacted appropriations for the year (b) Purchasing services and merchandise before appropriations are enacted.”

Appropriation (See Budget Authority)

• Generally, an amount of money set aside for a particular purpose. To appropriate is to set aside an amount of money for a particular purpose.
• Congress appropriates by providing Budget Authority for both Mandatory and Discretionary Spending programs.
• When dealing with Mandatory Spending programs (e.g. Entitlement programs like Social Security), Budget Authority can be described as Entitlement Authority which involves permanently (until law is changed) distributing funds based on eligibility of recipients).     
• For Discretionary Spending programs (e.g. Defense programs), Budget Authority provides a legal Authorization to enter into Obligations for which payments (outlays) will be made from the Treasury. Just remember this sequence: Authorization (Budget Authority) ⇒ Obligation (enter into contract) ⇒ Outlay (pay). Discretionary Spending is established yearly through annually established Appropriations Acts (Bills).

Appropriation (Appropriation Bill or Act)

• The annual Federal Budget Process requires that 12 Discretionary Spending Bills (called Appropriation Bills be passed yearly). See “Appropriation Subcommittees” for a listing of the 12 Bill categories. 
• Ref6: (www.crfb.org): “Appropriations are annual decisions made by Congress about how the US Federal Government spends some of its money. In general, the appropriations process addresses the discretionary portion of the budget – spending ranging from national defense to food safety to education to federal employee salaries – but excludes mandatory spending, such as Medicare and Social Security, which is spent automatically according to formulas.
• For Discretionary Spending , an Authorization Bill creates and justifies the program and (typically) provides guidelines on money that may be spent. An Appropriations Bill then funds an authorized program. For Mandatory Spending programs (e.g. Social Security) the Authorization Bill both authorizes and appropriates funding.
• Ref5: “A law of Congress that provides an agency with budget authority. An appropriation allows the agency to incur obligations and to make payments from the U.S. Treasury for specified purposes”
• Authorization Bills must be approved by the President (or veto overridden) to become laws. They can be passed individually or in packages called Omnibus (all 12 packaged together) or Minibus Appropriation Bills.  

Appropriation (Appropriation Bill or Act) – continued

• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “Legislation that provides budget authority to allow federal agencies to incur obligations and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes, usually during a specified period of time. Discretionary appropriations measures  are under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.”
• Ref6 (www.crfb.org): “Authorization bills create, extend, or make changes to statutes and specific programs and specify the amount of money that appropriators may spend on a specific program (some authorizations are open-ended). Appropriations bills then provide the discretionary funding available to agencies and programs that have already been authorized. For example, an authorization measure may create a food inspection program and set a funding limit for the next five years; however, that program is not funded by Congress until an appropriations measure is signed into law.”
• Ref6 (www.crfb.org): “The authorization bill designs the rules and sets out the details for the program, while the appropriations bill provides the actual resources to execute the program. In the case of mandatory spending, an authorization bill both authorizes and appropriates funding for a specific program without requiring a subsequent appropriations law.”

Appropriation Committee

Appropriation Subcommittees

• The annual Federal Budget Process uses 12 House Appropriation Subcommittees and 12 Senate Appropriations Subcommittees to develop yearly Appropriations Bills (a reconciled set of 12). All agency proposed budgets are placed into one of the 12 categories listed below. Often these bills have been combined (called Omnibus if all of them are combined and Minibus if a subset of them is combined). 
• The Budget Resolution developed by the House and Senate Budget Committees sets the top line spending limit for the year (Called 302(a) limit…see “302(a)”). For example the cap or limit for the 2022 budget (for all 12 categories) was 1.47 Trillion USD. 
• The Appropriations Committees set the individual bill spending caps (called 302(b)s….see “302(a)).  For example, the 2022 cap on the Defense Bill was 728.5 Billion USD.
• Note that there used to be 13 Appropriations Bills which were consolidated into 12 in the 2005 to the 2008 time period.  

1. Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration
2. Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
3. Defense
4. Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
5. Financial Services and General Government
6. Homeland Security
7. Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
8. Labor, Health and Human Services, Education
9. Legislative Branch
10. Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
11. State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
12. Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Article I, Section 9, Clause7 of the Constitution

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “The United States Constitution gives Congress the power to levy taxes, to finance government operations through appropriations, and to prescribe the conditions governing the use of those appropriations. This power is referred to as the congressional “power of the purse.”
• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP continued): ” The power derives from various provisions of the Constitution particularly article I, section 9, clause 7, which provides that: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.””
• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “Thus an agency may not draw money out of the Treasury to fund agency operations unless Congress has appropriated the money to the agency. At its most basic level, this means that it is up to Congress to decide whether to provide funds for a particular program or activity and to fix the level of that funding.”
• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP continued): “Although the Constitution does not provide detailed instructions on how Congress is to do so, Congress has and continues to implement its power of the purse in two ways: through the enactment of laws that raise revenue and appropriate funds, including annual appropriations acts, and through the enactment of “fiscal statutes” that control and manage federal revenue and appropriations (one such fiscal statute, the Antideficiency Act, is explained in detail in phase 3).”

Authorization (Authorization Bill)

• For Discretionary Spending , an Authorization Bill creates and justifies the program and (typically) provides guidelines on money that may be spent. An Appropriations Bill then funds an authorized program. For Mandatory Spending programs (e.g. Social Security) the Authorization Bill both authorizes and appropriates funding.   
• Ref6 (www.crfb.org): “Authorization bills create, extend, or make changes to statutes and specific programs and specify the amount of money that appropriators may spend on a specific program (some authorizations are open-ended). Appropriations bills then provide the discretionary funding available to agencies and programs that have already been authorized. For example, an authorization measure may create a food inspection program and set a funding limit for the next five years; however, that program is not funded by Congress until an appropriations measure is signed into law. The authorization bill designs the rules and sets out the details for the program, while the appropriations bill provides the actual resources to execute the program. In the case of Mandatory Spending, an authorization bill both authorizes and appropriates funding for a specific program without requiring a subsequent appropriations law.”

Authorizing Committee 

• A standing congressional committee (see Committee definition or Appendix 2) that serves as an Authorizing Committee. Authorizing Committees have subject matter expertise over certain agency programs and have the role of authorizing these programs; meaning giving people authority and providing the structure and rules under which those programs operate. 
• For example, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees could be Authorizing Committees for certain Department of Defense programs.  
• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “A standing committee of the House or Senate with legislative jurisdiction over the establishment, continuation, and operations of federal programs or agencies. The jurisdiction of such committees extends, in addition to program legislation, to authorization of appropriations legislation. (Normally, authorization of appropriations legislation is a prerequisite for making appropriations for the given programs or agencies.) An authorizing committee also has jurisdiction in those instances where backdoor authority is provided in the substantive legislation.”
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “Legislative committees—such as the House Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
  Transportation—are responsible for authorizing legislation related to the agencies and programs under their jurisdiction. Most standing committees have authorizing responsibilities.

Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA)

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “…refers to legislation that shaped the budget process, first by setting fixed targets for annual deficits and then by replacing those with a Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirement for new tax or mandatory spending legislation and with caps on annual discretionary funding. The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, which did not amend BBEDCA, reinstated a statutory PAYGO rule for revenues and mandatory spending legislation. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Public Law 118-5), which amended BBEDCA, reinstated discretionary caps on budget authority through 2025.”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): Provides guidelines on how OMB prepare baseline estimates.
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “BBEDCA divides spending into two categories—discretionary and mandatory.”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “Sequestration is the cancellation of budgetary resources for budget enforcement purposes. Sequestration is required under certain circumstances as set forth in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA), as amended, and the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO Act).

Baseline Estimate

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “Projected levels of governmental receipts (revenues), budget authority, and outlays for the budget year and subsequent fiscal years, assuming generally that current policies remain the same, except as directed by law. The baseline is described in the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) annual report for the House and Senate Budget Committees, The Budget and Economic Outlook, which is published in January. The baseline, by law, includes projections for 5 years, but at the request of the Budget Committees, CBO has provided such projections for 10 years. In most years the CBO baseline is revised in conjunction with CBO’s analysis of the President’s budget, which is usually issued in March, and again during the summer. The “March” baseline is the benchmark for measuring the budgetary effects of proposed legislation under consideration by Congress. “

Budget and Accounting Act of 1921

• The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (1) Requires the President to Submit an Annual Budget (2) Created the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and (3) created the Government Accountability Office (GAO). 

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “Before enactment of this law in 1921, there was no annual centralized budgeting in the Executive Branch. Federal government agencies usually sent budget requests independently to congressional committees with no coordination of the various requests in formulating the federal government’s budget. The Budget and Accounting Act required the President to coordinate the budget requests for all government agencies and to send a comprehensive budget to the Congress. It created the Bureau of the Budget, now the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to help the President implement these requirements. It also required the President to include certain information in the budget. The Congress has amended the requirements many times and has codified them as Chapter 11, Title 31, U.S. Code. T

Budget and Economic Outlook Report (See Baseline Estimate)

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “Projected levels of governmental receipts (revenues), budget authority, and outlays for the budget year and subsequent fiscal years, assuming generally that current policies remain the same, except as directed by law. The baseline is described in the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) annual report for the House and Senate Budget Committees, The Budget and Economic Outlook, which is published in January.”

Budget Authority

• Congress Appropriates by providing Budget Authority to Government entities to enter into Obligations (binding contracts) to make outlays (payments).
• The term applies to both annual Appropriations for Discretionary Spending and Mandatory (Entitlement) Spending (which is dictated by permanent laws). 
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “Authority provided by federal law to enter into financial obligations that will result in immediate or future outlays involving federal government funds. The main forms of budget authority are appropriations, entitlement authority, borrowing authority, and contract authority. It also includes authority to obligate and expend the proceeds of offsetting receipts and collections. Congress may make budget authority available for one year, several years, or an indefinite period, and it may specify definite or indefinite amounts.”
• Ref11:  (CRS – IF12105): “…when Congress enacts an appropriation it is providing an agency with “budget authority” that can be used to finance federal programs and activities. This budget  authority allows agencies to enter into various financial obligations and for the Treasury to subsequently outlay the funds to meet those obligations.
• The Budget Process, for Discretionary Spending programs, entails three steps: (1) Congress provides Budget Authority (typically annually) (2) Various Agencies enter into Obligations or binding commitments to spend and (3) Various Agencies actually spend the money (outlays or expenditures). For Mandatory Spending , Authorization Laws dictate the level and structure of funding.

Budget Committee

• As part of the annual Federal Budget Process, the House and Senate Budget Committees are required to create and pass yearly Budget Resolutions.
• The House and Senate Budget Committees were established by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (CBA). 
• Ref2 (CBPP): “The House and Senate Budget Committees draft and enforce the congressional budget resolution. Once the Budget Committees pass their budget resolutions, the resolutions go to the House and Senate floors, where they can be amended. The budget resolution for the year is adopted when the House and Senate pass the identical measure, either after negotiating a conference agreement or after one chamber passes the resolution adopted by the other.” 
• The House and Senate Budget Committees also develop Reconciliation Bills which mainly authorize changes in Mandatory Spending and taxes. 

Budget Cycle

• The Government is typically working on 3 budgets at a time. For example, in February 2023, (1) the Government would be spending money for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 (2) the President and OMB would present the Presidential Budget Request to Congress for FY 2024 and (3) the executive agencies would be planning for FY 2025.   

Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 (BEA)

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “The CBA was amended extensively by a series of laws. BBEDCA, one of these amendments, had as its central feature a series of declining deficit targets. BBEDCA was amended by the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA), which applied a statutory pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) process to mandatory spending and revenue legislation and discretionary spending limits to annual appropriations acts. The statutory PAYGO process and discretionary spending limits expired in 2002. More recently enacted laws, however, have reinstated the statutory budget enforcement mechanisms for mandatory spending and revenues and discretionary spending. 

• Ref (Google Bard): BEA key implementations were (1) The BEA set annual caps on discretionary spending. If caps were exceeded, automatic spending cuts would be triggered. (2) Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirement: New legislation causing increases in mandatory spending or tax reductions was required to be offset by spending cuts or revenue increases (to avoid increasing the deficit). 

Budget Equation (Federal Budget Equation)

• The US Federal Budget is a yearly accounting of the US Government’s cash inflows (Revenues or Receipts) and outflows (Outlays or Spend or Expenditures).
• Each year, the US Federal Government’s balance of cash flows results in a Balanced Budget, a Budget Deficit, or a Budget Surplus.    
• Receipts – Outlays <0 (Deficit)
• Receipts – Outlays > 0 (Surplus)
• Receipts = Outlays (Balanced)

Budget Functions

• See Function Classification

Budget Proposal (Request)

• The Congressional Budget Process begins when the President (OMB) submits the annual Budget Proposal (Request) to Congress. The law (not enforced and often not met) requires this to be submitted no later than the first Monday in February. (e.g. February 2023 for the 2024 Budget Fiscal Year which begins on October 2023 and ends on September 30 2024.).

Budget Process (Federal Budget Process)

• The Federal Budget process can be broken down into three or four phases depending on which Government documents you use. 
• Phase 1. Executive Branch Budget Formulation. (~ 11 Month Process; ~ 19 Months before Fiscal Year Begins ). OMB and Agencies and President work together to produce a President’s Budget Request/Proposal (PBR).
• Phase 2. Congressional Budget Enactment (~ 8-9 Month Process ). PBR Passed to Congress (Legislature) for Enactment (Budget Resolution and Reconciliation, Program Authorization and Funding Appropriation).
• Phase 3. Budget Execution and Control (Fiscal Year Oct 1 – Sept 30). Agencies receive the funding and execute the budget.
• Phase 4. Audit and Evaluation. Evaluation and Auditing of Process by Agencies and others like OMB, CBO, and GAO.
• See Ref10: (Circular No. A-11) 
• See  Ref4: (GAO-05-734SP) 

Budget Reconciliation (see Reconciliation, see Budget Resolution)

Budget Request (Presidential Budget Request or Proposal or PBR)

• The Congressional Budget Process begins when the President (OMB) submits the annual Budget Proposal (Request) to Congress. The law (not enforced and often not met) requires this to be submitted no later than the first Monday in February. (e.g. February 2023 for the 2024 Budget Fiscal Year which begins on October 2023 and ends on September 30 2024.).
• A significant portion of the PBR addresses the yearly budget appropriations (Discretionary Spending).
• The PBR is a very detailed document showing the President’s priorities. The PBR Delineates how much the Government should spend and tax, and how much of a deficit or a surplus the Government should run. 
• The Executive office (Agencies, OMB, President) prepares the PBR each year. Congress is not responsible for the PBR.

Budget Resolution

• A key product of the annual Federal Budget Process which sets spending limits that the congressional  Appropriations Committees must honor. It is not a law (statute).
• Ref6: (crfb.org): “After the President submits the Administration’s budget proposal to Congress, the House and Senate Budget Committees are each directed to report a budget resolution that, if passed by their respective houses, would then be reconciled in a budget conference. The resulting budget resolution, which is a concurrent resolution and therefore not signed by the President, includes what is known as a 302(a) allocation that sets a total amount of money for the Appropriations Committees to spend”
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “A concurrent resolution, provided under the Congressional Budget Act, that allows Congress to make decisions about overall fiscal policy and priorities, as well as coordinate and establish guidelines for the consideration of various budget related measures. Because a concurrent resolution is not a law, it cannot be signed or vetoed by the President. It therefore does not have statutory effect, so no money can be raised or spent pursuant to it. Revenue and spending amounts set in the budget resolution, however, establish the basis for the enforcement of congressional budget policies through points of order.
• Takes a simple majority in Senate to approve (i.e. unlimited debate or Filibustering is not allowed).
• Budget Resolutions can also contain guidance on creating Budget Reconciliation Bills (which also cannot be Filibustered and only a simple majority is needed to approve in the Senate). Reconciliation Bills can change/create legislation related to revenues (taxes) and spending including Mandatory Spending. 

CBA (see Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974)

• Also known as the Congressional Budget Act or CBA.

Cloture

• In the Senate, unlimited debates/speeches known as Filibusters can be ended by invoking the Cloture Rule which requires a 3/5 super- majority vote (60 votes today).

Collections

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): ” Collections mean money collected by the government that the Budget records as a governmental receipt, an offsetting collection, or an offsetting receipt.”
• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ):” Amounts received by the federal government during the fiscal year. Collections are classified into three major categories: (1) governmental receipts (also called budget receipts or federal receipts), (2) offsetting collections, and (3) offsetting receipts. Governmental receipts result from the exercise of the government’s sovereign powers. Offsetting collections and receipts result from businesslike transactions with the public or transactions between appropriated activities. Offsetting collections and offsetting receipts are recorded as offsets to spending. They are offsetting collections when the collections are authorized by law to be credited to expenditure accounts. Otherwise, they are deposited in receipt accounts and called offsetting receipts.”

Committee (Congressional Committee)

• See Appendix 2 for a complete listing of congressional committees. 
• Congressional committees exist in both the House and Senate.  They comprise members of congress who specialize in the areas they oversee. 

Committees

• Ref (senate.gov): “…monitor on-going governmental operations, identify issues suitable for legislative review, gather and evaluate information, and recommend courses of action to the Senate”.  
• Ref (House.gov): “…consider bills and issues and oversee agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions.”
• Ref (Senate.gov): “..gather information on national and international problems within their jurisdiction in order to draft, consider, and recommend legislation…”
• There are Standing Committees, Authorizing Committees, Joint Committees,  Special/Select Committees, and Conference Committees

Concurrent Resolution

• The annual Federal Budget Process Budget Resolution is a concurrent resolution. (see Budget Resolution).
• According to Wikipedia, “In the United States Congress, a concurrent resolution is a resolution passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate but is not presented to the President for signature and does not have the force of law. In contrast, joint resolutions and bills are presented to the President and, once signed or approved over a veto, are enacted and have the force of law.”

Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (CBA) of 1974

• Also known as the Congressional Budget Act
• The CBA established (provides the framework for) the Federal Budget Process we “follow” today. It requires a Budget Resolution to be passed each year. It created the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) and the House and Senate Budget Committees. Based on my readings, it appears that Congress mainly enacted the CBA to curtail the President’s (Nixon at the time) power of impoundment (withholding or impounding funds appropriated by the Congress). 
• Ref7 (www.americanprogress.org) : “In 1974, the efforts of members of Congress to assert their own prerogatives, improve timeliness of budgets, and more effectively set national priorities finally culminated in the CBA. This new law achieved the following major structural changes in federal budget policy:

1. Established the House and Senate Budget Committees
2. Established the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
3. Effectively eliminated executive impoundments
4. Established the budget process and timeline”

• See the following articles, some of which suggest, that the main purpose of the Act was to prevent Nixon from impounding congressionally approved funding. 

1. taxpolicycenter.org history of budget process.pdf
2. crfb.org Budget act at 40 time for a tune up.pdf
3. pgpf.org q and a congressional budget and impoundment control act of 1974
4. politico.com Richard Nixon and congressional budget control act history

Congressional Budget Act of 1974 – Section 302 (see 302)

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

• The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office provides Congress with information about budgetary and economic issues. It kicks off the annual Federal Budget Process by issuing a Baseline Budget Estimate to the Budget and Appropriations Committees. 
• It is an integral part of the Congressional Phase of the Federal Budget Process (e.g. provides baseline estimates at the beginning of this Phase). The CBO releases periodic publications on budget options for reducing the deficit. It also published monthly budget reviews and also has a role in Scorekeeping (tracking the budget effects of Congressional legislation). The CBO also publishes 10 year budget forecasts.
• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was established by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (CBA).
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “The CBA (Congressional Budget Act of 1974) also established the House and Senate Budget Committees as well as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide Congress with an independent source for budgetary information, particularly estimates concerning the cost of proposed legislation.”

Congressional Phase of the Budget Process

• The second phase of the Federal Budget Process. Duration is about 8 to 9 months. 
• Ref10: (Circular No. A-11) : “Congressional. This phase starts in late January or February, when the Congress receives the President’s Budget. The Congress does not vote on the President’s Budget itself, and it does not
  enact a budget of its own, as such. It considers the President’s Budget proposals, passes an overall revenue and spending plan called a “budget resolution,” and enacts the regular appropriations acts and other laws that control spending and receipts.”
• For the chronological steps listed below, these occur in the Calendar Year preceding the Fiscal Year (for example occur in 2023 for Fiscal Year 2024 Budget)
• Timing: (January) “Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports to Budget Committees on the economic and budget outlook.”
• Timing: (February) “CBO re-estimates the President’s Budget based on their economic and technical assumptions.”
• Timing: (Within 6 weeks of budget transmittal) “Other committees submit “views and estimates” to House and Senate Budget Committees. Committees indicate their preferences regarding budgetary matters for which they are responsible.”
• Timing: (April 15): “The Congress completes action on the concurrent resolution on the budget. The Congress commits itself to broad spending and revenue levels by passing a budget resolution.”
• Timing: (September 30): “The Congress needs to complete action on appropriations bills for the upcoming fiscal year or provide a “continuing resolution” (a stop-gap appropriation law).”

Congressional Research Service (see CRS)

Continuing Resolution 

• A Continuing Resolution (CR) is a temporary funding measure that Congress uses when Appropriation Bills are not passed or are delayed beyond the start of the Fiscal Year. Continuing Resolutions operate at the same level of funding as the previous year.
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : ” Continuing resolution (CR). When annual appropriations acts are not enacted by the beginning of the Fiscal Year (October 1), one or more continuing appropriations acts may be enacted to provide temporary continued funding for covered programs and activities until action on regular appropriations acts is completed. Such funding is provided for a specified period of time, which may be extended through the enactment of subsequent CRs. Rather than providing a specific amount of funding, CRs typically allow agencies to operate at a specified rate. A continuing appropriations act is commonly referred to as a continuing resolution or CR because historically it has been in the form of a joint resolution rather than a bill, but there is no procedural requirement as to its form. In some cases, CRs have provided appropriations for an entire Fiscal Year.”

• Ref15: (CRS-R46595): CRs are supposed to be stop gaps to be used occasionally. They are actually used all the time. Since Fiscal Year 1998 (to 2023), 132 Continuing Resolutions have been enacted. There have only been four years since 1977 (to 2023) where no Continuing Resolutions have been enacted for the year.  

CRS (Congressional Research Service)

• Ref (CRS) : “The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves as shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities.”

Current Service Estimate

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “Estimates submitted by the President of the levels of budget authority and outlays for the ensuing fiscal year based on the continuation of existing levels of service. These estimates reflect the anticipated costs of continuing federal programs and activities at present levels without policy changes. Such estimates ignore all new presidential or congressional initiatives, including reductions or increases that are not yet law.”

Customs Duty

• Customs Duties are a  type of US Federal Budget revenue or receipt.  
• Ref (Customs duty info-cbp.gov) : “Customs Duty is a tariff or tax imposed on goods when transported across international borders. The purpose of Customs Duty is to protect each country’s economy, residents, jobs, environment, etc., by controlling the flow of goods, especially restrictive and prohibited goods, into and out of the country.”
• The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) establishes tariff rates on all merchandise imported into the United States.
• Customs duties amounted to about 99 Billion USD in FY 2022 (about 2% of total revenues).
• Cbp.gov publishes a report called the  “CBP Trade and Travel Report” which provides some information on customs duties imposed for a particular fiscal year. Some significant revenue can come from what are called Section 201, 232, and 301 duties (in 2022 these included duties on aluminum, steel, solar panels, and China Products).  

Deeming Resolution

• Legislation that serves the same purpose as a Budget Resolution if Congress can’t agree on one (or if it’s late). 
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “An informal term that refers to a resolution or bill passed by one or both houses of Congress that provides an alternate means to establish the basis for budgetary enforcement actions in the absence of a budget resolution.” 
• Ref :(CRS – R44296): “In the absence of agreement on a budget resolution, Congress may employ alternative legislative tools to serve as a substitute for a budget resolution. These substitutes are typically referred to as “deeming resolutions,” because they are deemed to serve in place of an annual budget resolution for the purposes of establishing enforceable budget levels for the upcoming fiscal year. 
• Ref6: (crfb.org): In the absence of a budget resolution, each chamber may enact a deeming resolution that sets the 302(a) allocation for that chamber. 

Deficit

• In an annual Federal Budget, the Deficit is the  amount of over-spend  i.e. Outlays (spending amounts) are greater than Receipts (Revenue)  i.e. Receipts – Outlays = <0 
• The amount of money the US Government needs to borrow in a given year. The Debt is the year by year accumulation of those deficits. The Government borrows money by issuing debt (e.g. Government bonds)   

DI Trust Fund

• DI, the Disability Insurance Trust Fund is funded by Social Security payroll taxes.
• This trust fund receives payroll taxes and holds (and invests) surplus funds not immediately needed to pay benefits.
• Ref20: DI-ssa.gov: “The Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund was created with passage of the Social Security Act Amendments of 1956. DI became effective on January 1, 1957…The DI Trust Fund is a separate account in the United States Treasury…The trust fund provides automatic spending authority to pay monthly benefits to disabled-worker beneficiaries and their spouses and children. With such spending authority, the Social Security Administration does not need to periodically request money from the Congress to pay benefits.”

Disability Insurance (see DI Trust Fund)

Direct (Mandatory) Spending

• Mandatory Spending outlays continue from year to year (i.e. spending doesn’t have to be authorized each year) and depend on the number of qualified people who receive those benefits. Social Security and Health Care entitlement programs below to this category. Basically, the laws governing these programs continue from year to year until/unless they are changed. 
• About 73% of the 2022 budget is Mandatory Spending. 
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) :”Direct spending is defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, as consisting of entitlement authority (including appropriated entitlements), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and any other budget authority (and resulting outlays) provided in laws other than appropriations acts. The term direct spending is often used interchangeably with the terms Mandatory or Entitlement Spending. Examples include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and military and federal civilian pensions.”

Discretionary Spending

• Sometimes described as Indirect Spending. Spending that is decided at the “discretion of Congress” on an annual basis. Discretionary expenditures are the yearly Federal Department and Agency outlays that are authorized by Congress on an Annual Basis (through the Federal Budget Process). The biggest portion (~45% in 2022) of Federal Discretionary Spending is dedicated to the Department of Defense. 
• Discretionary Spending encompasses appropriations not mandated by existing law.
• Defense spending makes up the majority of Discretionary Spending (about 45% in 2022). 
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, defines Discretionary Spending as budget authority provided in annual appropriation acts and the outlays derived from that authority. Discretionary spending encompasses appropriations not mandated by existing law and therefore made available in appropriation acts in such amounts as Congress chooses.” 

Enforcement Procedures for Mandatory and Discretionary Spending 

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11):” Discretionary and mandatory spending are controlled by different enforcement procedures. Congress controls discretionary budget authority and outlays through the congressional budget process governed by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under that Act, Congress sets limits on discretionary budget authority and outlays, in total and for specific categories of spending, through allocations and suballocations. For mandatory spending, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) reestablished and made permanent a statutory procedure to enforce deficit neutrality on new revenue and mandatory spending legislation”.

Entitlement Spending

• Spending on programs that don’t require annual budget appropriations to continue (i.e. Mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare).
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “Direct spending is defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, as consisting of entitlement authority (including appropriated entitlements), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and any other budget authority (and resulting outlays) provided in laws other than appropriations acts. The term direct spending is often used interchangeably with the terms mandatory or entitlement spending. Examples include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and military and federal civilian pensions.”

Execution Phase of the Budget Process

• The third  phase of the Federal Budget Process. Duration is the 12 month Fiscal Year which begins October 1 and ends September 30.
• Ref10: (Circular No. A-11) : Execution. During the Fiscal Year funds are apportioned and spent

Excise Taxes (Federal)

• Per Google Bard, “A federal excise tax is a tax that is levied on the production, sale, or consumption of certain goods or services.”
• Ref (taxfoundation.org): The first excise tax was on the manufacture of whiskey in 1791. Excise taxes today are a small part of total federal taxes (20% in 1950 versus 1.8% in FY2022). 
• Ref25: (CRS-R43189/4): “Excise taxes are selective taxes on specific forms of consumption or behavior (compared to general sales taxes which tend to apply to all forms of consumption, with some exceptions). Today, federal excise taxes apply to a wide variety of consumer goods and economic activities, such as alcohol, tobacco, firearms and ammunition, gasoline, the industrial use of ozone-depleting chemicals, and indoor tanning services…”
• Ref25: (CRS-R43189/4): “There are four common purposes of excise taxes: (1) sumptuary (or “sin”) taxes, (2) regulatory or environmental taxes, (3) benefit-based taxes (or user charges), and (4) luxury taxes. Sumptuary (or “sin”) taxes were traditionally imposed for moral reasons, but are currently rationalized, in part, to discourage a specific activity that is thought to have negative spillover effects (or externalities”) on society… Economists also refer to taxes applied to an activity generating negative  externalities as a “Pigovian tax.” This type of tax is named after economist Arthur Pigou, who developed the concept of economic externalities.” 
• Example of FY2022 Excise Taxes (organized as Federal Funds): Alcohol, Tobacco, crude oil windfall profit, Telephone , Ozone depleting chemicals/products , Transportation fuels, High cost health insurance coverage , Health insurance providers, Indoor tanning services, Medical devices, Other.
• Example of FY2022 Excise Taxes (organized as Trust Funds): Transportation, Airport and airway, Black lung disability, Inland waterway, Hazardous substance superfund, Post-closure liability (hazardous waste), Oil spill liability, Aquatic resources, Leaking underground storage tank, Tobacco Assessments, Vaccine injury compensation, Supplementary medical insurance, Patient-centered outcomes research

Federal Budget Equation (Budget Equation)

• The US Federal Budget is a yearly accounting of the US Government’s cash inflows (Revenues or Receipts) and outflows (Outlays or Spend or Expenditures).
• Each year, the US Federal Government’s balance of cash flows results in a Balanced Budget, a Budget Deficit, or a Budget Surplus.    
• Receipts – Outlays <0 (Deficit)
• Receipts – Outlays > 0 (Surplus)
• Receipts = Outlays (Balanced)

Federal Budget Process (see Budget Process)

Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “This law governs Federal credit programs—ones that make direct loans and loan guarantees. The Act (FCRA) prescribes a special budget treatment for direct loans and loan guarantees that measures the net present value of cash flows to and from the government, i.e., subsidy cost, rather than budgeting for credit programs on a cash basis. For most credit programs, the Congress must provide budget authority equal to
  the subsidy cost in annual appropriations acts before the program can make direct loans or loan guarantees. 

Federal Fund (see Trust Fund)  – Specific to Federal Government Budgetary terms. 

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “Federal funds group refers to the moneys collected and spent by the Government through accounts other than those designated as trust funds. Federal funds include general, special, public enterprise, and intragovernmental funds.”
• Federal Funds include Special Funds and Revolving Funds. 

FICA (see FUTA and SECA and Payroll Taxes)

• FICA is the law that requires employees/employers to pay taxes to fund Social Security and part of Medicare. Federal Payroll taxes consist of FICA taxes + SECA taxes (for self employed individuals) + FUTA taxes (Unemployment Insurance taxes). 
• FICA, the Federal Insurance Contributions Act was passed in 1935 (part of Roosevelt’s New Deal). FICA imposes federal payroll taxes to fund Social Security and (some) Medicare programs. 
• FICA taxes comprise three taxes: (1) an Old-Age, Survivors Insurance (OASI) tax, (2) a Disability Insurance or DI tax, and (3) a Hospital Insurance (HI) tax which is part of the Medicare Part A program.    
• Ref21: (IRS FICA Description) :”Taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) are composed of the old-age, survivors (OASI), and disability insurance (DI) taxes, also known as social security taxes, and the hospital insurance tax, also known as Medicare taxes. Different rates apply for these taxes…The current (2023 tax year) tax rate for social security is 6.2% for the employer and 6.2% for the employee, or 12.4% total. The current rate for Medicare is 1.45% for the employer and 1.45% for the employee, or 2.9% total. “

Filibuster

• The right to unlimited debate (or just speech) in the Senate. This can delay or prevent Bills from passing. Filibusters can be ended by invoking the Cloture Rule which requires a 3/5 super- majority vote (60 votes today).
• Filibusters are not allowed during Budget Resolution or Reconciliation Bill deliberations. 
• The House of Representatives has adopted rules that strictly limit the amount of time for debates and speeches, so Filibusters do not occur in the House.   
• See Ref9 (crsreports.congress.gov).  

Fiscal Year

• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “The Fiscal Year for the federal government begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The Fiscal Year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends: For example, FY2020 began on October 1, 2019, and ends on September 30, 2020.”

Formulation Phase of Budget Process

• The first phase of the Federal Budget Process where the Executive Branch formulates a Budget Request. Duration is about 11 months (e.g.  Starts in March and ends in February of the following calendar year with President submitting Budget Request to Congress).
• Ref10: (Circular No. A-11) : “Formulation. During this phase, the Executive Branch prepares the President’s Budget. OMB and the Federal agencies begin preparing the next budget almost as soon as the President has sent the last one to the Congress. OMB officially starts the process by sending planning guidance to Executive Branch agencies in the spring. The President completes this phase by sending the budget to the Congress on the first Monday in February, as specified in law, although occasionally Presidents have sent it later for various reasons.”
• Timing: Formulation begins in the Spring of a Calendar Year for the Fiscal Year = Calendar year + 2 (for example, Formulation would begin in 2022 for the 2024 Fiscal Year).
• Timing: Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ):  “In late November, OMB passes back budget decisions to the agencies on their budget requests, the so-called passback. These decisions may involve, among other things, funding levels, program policy changes, and personnel ceilings. The agencies may appeal decisions with which they disagree. If OMB and an agency cannot reach agreement, the issue may be taken to the President.”

Function Classifications

• Budget Functions classify federal budgetary activities into functional categories and subcategories.
• Based on OMB definitions, the Budget is organized into superfunctions (total of 6), functions (total of 20), and subfunctions (total of 80)
• See Appendix 4 for superfunctions, functions, and subfunction classifications. They are also listed below. 
• Ref13:  Obamawhitehouse.archives.gov: “The budget is organized into functions and subfunctions according to the major purpose the spending serves— such as agriculture or national defense. There are 20 major functions, most of which are divided into subfunctions. For example, the Agriculture function comprises the subfunctions Farm Income Stabilization and Agricultural Research and Services. There are then program accounts under each of these subfunctions. For example, the subfunction Farm Income Stabilization has several program accounts, including Agricultural Credit Loan Program and Commodity Credit Corporation Fund.”

Breakdown by Superfunction/Function and Subfunction

National Defense/050 National Defense

051 Department of Defense-Military – subfunction
053 Atomic energy defense activities – subfunction
054 Defense-related activities – subfunction

Other/150 International Affairs

151 International development and humanitarian assistance
152 International security assistance
153 Conduct of foreign affairs
154 Foreign information and exchange activities
155 International financial programs

Other/250 General Science, Space, and Technology

251 General science and basic research
252 Space flight, research, and supporting activities

Physical Resources/270 Energy

271 Energy supply
272 Energy conservation
274 Emergency energy preparedness
276 Energy information, policy, and regulation

Physical Resources/300 Natural Resources and Environment

301 Water resources
302 Conservation and land management
303 Recreational resources
304 Pollution control and abatement
306 Other natural resources

Other/350 Agriculture

351 Farm income stabilization
352 Agricultural research and services

Physical Resources/370 Commerce and Housing Credit

371 Mortgage credit
372 Postal Service
373 Deposit insurance
376 Other advancement of commerce

Physical Resources/400 Transportation

401 Ground transportation
402 Air transportation
403 Water transportation
407 Other transportation

Physical Resources/450 Community and Regional Development 

451 Community development
452 Area and regional development
453 Disaster relief and insurance

Human Resources/500 Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services 

501 Elementary, secondary, and vocational education
502 Higher education
503 Research and general education aids
504 Training and employment
505 Other labor services
506 Social services

Human Resources/550 Health

551 Health care services
552 Health research and training
554 Consumer and occupational health and safety

Human Resources/570 Medicare

571 Medicare

Human Resources/600 Income Security

601 General retirement and disability insurance (excluding social security)
602 Federal employee retirement and disability
603 Unemployment compensation
604 Housing assistance
605 Food and nutrition assistance
609 Other income security

Human Resources/650 Social Security

651 Social security

Human Resources/700 Veterans Benefits and Services 

701 Income security for veterans
702 Veterans education, training, and rehabilitation
703 Hospital and medical care for veterans
704 Veterans housing
705 Other veterans benefits and services

Other/750 Administration of Justice

751 Federal law enforcement activities
752 Federal litigative and judicial activities
753 Federal correctional activities
754 Criminal justice assistance

Other/800 General Government

801 Legislative functions
802 Executive direction and management
803 Central fiscal operations
804 General property and records management
805 Central personnel management
806 General purpose fiscal assistance
808 Other general government
809 Deductions for offsetting receipts

Net Interest/900 Net Interest

901 Interest on Treasury debt securities (gross)
902 Interest received by on-budget trust funds
903 Interest received by off-budget trust funds
908 Other interest
909 Other investment income

Other/920 Allowances

921–929 Allowances [Assigned by OMB]

Undistributed Offsetting Receipts/950 Undistributed Offsetting Receipts

951 Employer share, employee retirement (on-budget)
952 Employer share, employee retirement (off-budget)
953 Rents and royalties on the Outer Continental Shelf
954 Sale of major assets
959 Other undistributed offsetting receipts

• See Ref14: Democrats-budget.house.gov Functions
• See Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP Appendix IV) 

• See Ref1: (CRS – R46240)

FUTA (see FICA, SECA, and Payroll Taxes)

• The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) of 1939 requires employers to pay a payroll tax to fund federal-state unemployment programs. 
• FUTA taxes are a part of required federal payroll taxes (Federal Payroll taxes consist of FICA taxes + SECA taxes (for self employed individuals) + FUTA taxes (Unemployment Insurance taxes).). 

GAO (Government Accountability Office)

• Per House.gov, ” The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is known as “the investigative arm of Congress” and “the congressional watchdog.” GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.”
• Created by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. 

Governmental Receipts (see Collection) 

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): ” Governmental receipts mean collections that result from the Government’s exercise of its sovereign power to tax or otherwise compel payment. They are compared to outlays in calculating a surplus or deficit. Receipts and revenues are common terms used in place of governmental receipts.”

GPRA (Government Performance and Results Act) Modernization Act of 2010

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP Appendix IV): “In 1993, Congress enacted the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) to improve congressional spending decisions and agency oversight through performance budgeting. GPRA holds federal agencies accountable for achieving program results and requires agencies to clarify their missions, set program goals, and measure performance toward achieving those goals. Among other things, the act requires each agency, on an annual basis, to submit a performance plan and performance report to OMB and Congress covering each program activity in the agency’s budget. The agency plan must establish goals that define the level of performance to be achieved by a program activity and describe the operational processes and resources required to achieve goals. The program performance reports present the agency’s performance in comparison to the plan for the previous fiscal year.”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 updates the Federal Government’s performance management framework, retaining and amplifying some aspects of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) while also addressing some of its weaknesses. The GPRA in 1993 had established strategic planning, performance planning, and reporting as a framework for agencies to communicate progress in achieving their missions. The GPRA Modernization Act establishes some important changes to existing requirements that move toward a more useful approach to performance planning and reporting on a central website. The GPRA Modernization Act serves as a foundation for helping agencies to focus on their highest priorities and creating a culture where data and empirical evidence play a greater role in policy, budget, and management decisions.” 

General Fund (See Trust Fund)

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “General fund means the accounts for collections not earmarked by law for a specific purpose, the proceeds of general borrowing, and the expenditure of these moneys. It is part of the Federal funds group.”

Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund (see Medicare Funding)

• One of two trust funds that fund Medicare. The HI Trust fund, funds Medicare Part A.
• Ref24: Medicare Funding – medicare.gov: “Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund: Funded mainly (~90%) through Payroll taxes paid by most employees, employers, and people who are self-employed. Also funded by Income taxes paid on Social Security benefits ,Interest earned on the trust fund investments, and Medicare Part A premiums from people who aren’t eligible for premium-free Part A. It funds (a) Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) benefits, like inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility (SNF) care, home health care, and hospice care. (b) Medicare Program administration, like costs for paying benefits, collecting Medicare taxes, and fighting fraud and abuse.”
• The other Medicare trust fund is the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund which funds Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D.

HI Trust Fund (See Hospital Insurance Trust Fund)

Indirect Spending

• See Discretionary Spending

Interest (Net Interest)

• The Net Interest is a Federal Budget outlay (spending) category which reflects the Government’s cost of borrowing money to finance its operations. Net Interest = Interest paid on Treasury Bonds (and other securities) issued minus income from Government income (including, for example, income from Government small business or student loans).
• The US Government Treasury issues debt by selling Government securities like Bills, Notes, Bonds, TIPS, etc. These are sold to individuals, corporations, pensions funds, foreign Governments, etc.
• The CBO counts Net Interest as a separate spending category (in addition to Discretionary or Mandatory) whereas the OMB categorizes Net Interest as a Mandatory Budget Function. 

Intragovernmental Revolving Funds (See Revolving Fund)

Laws that Govern the Budget Cycle

• See Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11):
• 1870 Antideficiency Act (several revisions, amendments)
• 1921 Budget and Accounting Act.
• 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (CBA)
• 1985 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act (BBEDCA)
• 1990 Federal Credit Reform Act.
• 1990 Budget Enforcement Act
• 2010 Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act
• 2010 GPRA Modernization Act (AKA Government Performance and Results Act)

Legislative Process

• The Federal Budget congressional legislative process is basically the same general process that applies to all lawmaking.
• In House or Senate Committees, hearings are held, markups are made, votes are cast, and if approved, the Bill (or Resolution) is sent to the House or Senate Floor.
• In the House or Senate Floor, there are debates (and amendments are considered), votes are cast, and if approved, the Bill (or Resolution) is sent to Conference.
• In the Conference Committee (comprised of House and Senate Committee members), the House and Senate Bills (or Resolutions) are reconciled and voted on. 
• The approved Conference Bills (not Resolutions, only Bills), are sent to the President for approval. If the President vetoes the Bill, it takes a 2/3 vote by both Houses to overturn the veto.  
• In the legislative process, if votes to pass fail,  then the process goes back to the beginning.
• Filibusters (right of members to unlimited debate) are excluded (with only simple majority vote needed) for Budget Resolutions and Reconciliation Bills.

Legislative Year

• January 3 through January 2 of the following year.

Mandatory (Direct) Spending

• Sometimes described as Direct Spending. Mandatory Spending outlays continue from year to year (i.e. spending doesn’t have to be authorized each year) and depend on the number of qualified people who receive those benefits. Social Security and Health Care entitlement programs below to this category. Basically, the laws governing these programs continue from year to year until/unless they are changed. 
• Mandatory Spending encompasses appropriations mandated by existing law.
• About 73% of the 2022 budget is Mandatory Spending (including Net Interest). 
• The CBO considers Net Interest (on Treasury Bonds issued to cover the deficits) to be a separate spending category whereas the OMB (office of Management and Budget) considers it part of Mandatory Spending. 
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) :”Direct spending is defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, as consisting of entitlement authority (including appropriated entitlements), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and any other budget authority (and resulting outlays) provided in laws other than appropriations acts. The term direct spending is often used interchangeably with the terms Mandatory or Entitlement Spending. Examples include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and military and federal civilian pensions.”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “Mandatory spending means spending controlled by laws other than appropriations acts (including spending for entitlement programs) and spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Although the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 uses the term “direct spending” instead of “mandatory spending” to describe this concept, “mandatory spending” is the term to describe the concept that is commonly used.”

Medicare

• Medicare is a federal health insurance entitlement program which is categorized by the Federal Budget as Mandatory Spending.
• Medicare was enacted in 1965 (part of President L.B. Johnson’s Great Society programs). Its purpose was to provide health insurance to people who were too old to be covered by private health insurance.
• Ref22: (What is Medicare – medicare.gov): “The federal health insurance program for (a) People who are 65 or older (b) Certain younger people with disabilities (c) People with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, sometimes called ESRD).”

Medicare Parts A and B

• Parts A and B are the original parts of the Medicare program. 
• Ref23: (Medicare parts – ssa.gov): “Part A (Hospital Insurance). Part A helps pay for inpatient care at: Hospitals, Skilled nursing facilities, Hospice. It also covers some outpatient home health care. Part A is free if you worked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years. You may also be eligible because of your current or former spouse’s work…
• Part B (Medical Insurance). Part B helps cover: Services from doctors and other health care providers, Outpatient care, Home health care, Durable medical equipment and Some preventive services. Most people pay a monthly premium for Part B. The exact premium depends on your income level.”

Medicare Parts C and D

• Ref23: (Medicare parts – ssa.gov): “Private companies run Parts C and D. The federal government approves each plan. Costs and coverage types vary by provider…
• Part C is known as Medicare Advantage. It’s an alternative to Parts A and B that bundles several coverage types, including Parts A, B, and usually D. It may also include: Vision, Hearing, Dental insurance…You must sign up for Part A or Part B before enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan…
• Part D (prescription drug coverage). Part D helps cover prescription drug costs. You must sign up for Part A or Part B before enrolling in Part D.”

Medicare Funding

• Budgetary Funding for Medicare is considered Mandatory Spending. Part A (Hospital Insurance) is funded mainly through Payroll Taxes (~90%). Part B and Part D are funded mainly through Government general revenues and premiums. See this source for more data. 
• Ref24: Medicare Funding – medicare.gov: “Medicare is paid for through 2 trust fund accounts held by the U.S. Treasury. These funds can only be used for Medicare…
• Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund: Funded mainly (~90%) through Payroll taxes paid by most employees, employers, and people who are self-employed. Also funded by Income taxes paid on Social Security benefits ,Interest earned on the trust fund investments, and Medicare Part A premiums from people who aren’t eligible for premium-free Part A. It funds (a) Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) benefits, like inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility (SNF) care, home health care, and hospice care. (b) Medicare Program administration, like costs for paying benefits, collecting Medicare taxes, and fighting fraud and abuse
• Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund: Funded by: (a) Funds authorized by Congress (b) Premiums from people enrolled in Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) and Medicare drug coverage (Part D) (c) Other sources, like interest earned on the trust fund investments. It funds (a) Medicare Part B (b) Medicare Part D (c) Medicare Program administration, like costs for paying benefits and for fighting fraud and abuse

Minibus Appropriation Bills

• Each Appropriations Bill can be passed alone or they can all (12) be passed as a single Omnibus Appropriations Bill or certain Appropriations Bills can be grouped into Minibus Appropriations Bills.

Net Interest

• The Net Interest is a Federal Budget outlay (spending) category which reflects the Government’s cost of borrowing money to finance its operations. Net Interest = Interest paid on Treasury Bonds (and other securities) issued minus income from Government income (including, for example, income from Government small business or student loans).
• The US Government Treasury issues debt by selling Government securities like Bills, Notes, Bonds, TIPS, etc. These are sold to individuals, corporations, pensions funds, foreign governments, etc.
• The CBO counts Net Interest as a separate spending category (in addition to Discretionary or Mandatory) whereas the OMB categorizes Net Interest as a Mandatory Budget Function. 

OASDI (see OASI or DI)

• A shortcut way to describe both the OASI (Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund)  and DI (Disability Insurance Trust Fund) trust funds. 
• OASI + DI are funded by Social Security payroll taxes (part of FICA).

OASI Trust Fund

• OASI, The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is funded by Social Security payroll taxes.   
• This trust fund receives payroll taxes and holds (and invests) surplus funds not immediately needed to pay benefits.
• Ref19:(OASI-ssa.gov): “The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is a separate account in the United States Treasury…The OASI Trust Fund was created pursuant to section 201 of the Social Security Act Amendments of 1939. These amendments also established a Board of Trustees. OASI became effective on January 1, 1940…The trust fund provides automatic spending authority to pay monthly benefits to retired-worker (old-age) beneficiaries and their spouses and children and to survivors of deceased insured workers. With such spending authority, the Social Security Administration does not need to periodically request money from the Congress to pay benefits.”

Obligation 

• A Federal Budget Process term. 
• A binding commitment to spend. Commitment that creates a legal liability by the Government to pay for goods and services and results in outlays (immediate or in in the future). So, outlays come from obligations. 
• Authority–>Obligation –> Outlay: The Budget Process entails three steps: (1) Congress provides Budget Authority (2) Various Agencies enter into Obligations or binding commitments to spend and (3) Various Agencies actually spend the money (outlays or expenditures)
• See References 1 and 11

Omnibus Appropriation Bills

• Each Appropriations Bill can be passed alone or they can all (12) be passed as a single Omnibus Appropriations Bill or certain Appropriations Bills can be grouped into Minibus Appropriations Bills.

Off-Budget Accounts

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “Those budgetary accounts (either federal or trust funds) designated by law as excluded from budget totals.”  These are considered off budget: the two Social Security trust funds (the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, OASI, Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance, DI, Trust Fund) and the transactions of the Postal Service (wym: some not all) are off-budget accounts.  
• For Fiscal Year 2022 budget , there were only three off-budget Accounts: (1) OASI Trust Fund (2) DI Trust Fund (3) Postal Service Fund (some not all)

Office of Management and Budget (see OMB)

Offsetting Collections

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): ” Offsetting collections mean payments to the Government that, by law, are credited directly to expenditure accounts and deducted from gross budget authority and outlays of the expenditure account, rather than added to receipts. Usually, offsetting collections are authorized to be spent for the purposes of the account without further action by Congress. They usually result from business-like transactions with the public, including payments from the public in exchange for goods and services, reimbursements for damages, and gifts or donations of money to the Government and from intragovernmental transactions with other Government accounts. The authority to spend offsetting collections is a form of budget authority.”
• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “Collections are amounts received by the federal government during the fiscal year. They are authorized by law to be credited to appropriation or fund expenditure accounts. They result from (1) businesslike transactions or market-oriented activities with the public, (2) intragovernmental transfers, and (3) collections from the public that are governmental in nature but required by law to be classified as offsetting. Collections resulting from businesslike transactions with the public and other government accounts are also known as reimbursements. Laws authorizing offsetting collections make them available for obligation to meet the account’s purpose without further legislative action…Offsetting collections include reimbursements, transfers between federal and trust fund accounts, offsetting governmental collections, and refunds.”

Offsetting Receipts

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): ” Offsetting receipts mean payments to the Government that are credited to offsetting receipt accounts and deducted from gross budget authority and outlays, rather than added to receipts. Usually they are deducted at the level of the agency and subfunction, but in some cases they are deducted at the level of the Government as a whole. They are not authorized to be credited to expenditure accounts.”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “The legislation that authorizes the offsetting receipts may earmark them for a specific purpose and either appropriate them for expenditure for that purpose or require them to be appropriated in annual appropriations acts before they can be spent. Like offsetting collections, they usually result from business-like transactions with the public, including payments from the public in exchange for goods and services, reimbursements for damages, and gifts or donations of money to the Government, and from intragovernmental transactions with other Government accounts.”
• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “Collections that are offset against gross outlays but are not authorized to be credited to expenditure accounts. Offsetting receipts are deposited in receipt accounts. Like offsetting collections, they result from (1) businesslike transactions or market oriented activities with the public, (2) intragovernmental transfers, and (3) collections from the public that are governmental in nature but required by law to be classified as offsetting receipts. Unlike offsetting collections, offsetting receipts cannot be used without being appropriated. Trust fund offsetting receipts are permanently appropriated and, therefore, can be used without subsequent annual appropriation legislation. “

Offsetting Receipts and Collections

• Ref1 (CRS – R46240): “Offsetting receipts/collections. Funds collected from the public primarily as a result of businesslike activities (such as user fees or royalties paid to the government) that are levied on a class directly availing itself of, or directly subject to, a governmental service, program, or activity rather than on the general public. Such receipts and collections are recorded as negative amounts of spending rather than as revenues. In most cases, offsetting receipts require an explicit appropriation, while offsetting collections may be obligated without further legislative action”.

Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (see OASI Trust Fund)

OMB (Office of Management and Budget)

• According to whitehouse.gov, “The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) serves the President of the United States in overseeing the implementation of his or her vision across the Executive Branch. OMB’s mission is to assist the President in meeting policy, budget, management, and regulatory objectives and to fulfill the agency’s statutory responsibilities.”
• Created by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921. 

On-Budget Accounts

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “All budgetary accounts other than those designated by law as off-budget.” 

Outlay 

• A Federal Budget Process term. 
• A federal budget expenditure. Federal Budget outlays can be categorized as Mandatory or Discretionary. 
• The CBO categorizes outlays into Discretionary (Defense+ Non-Defense) + Mandatory (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Income Security, Federal Civilian and Military Retirement, Veterans’ Programs, Offsets, Other) + Net Interest.
• The OMB categorizes outlays into 20 Budget Functions (see “Function Classifications”) . The OMB considers Net Interest as part of Mandatory Spending.
• Authority–>Obligation –> Outlay: The Budget Process entails three steps: (1) Congress provides Budget Authority (2) Various Agencies enter into Obligations or binding commitments to spend and (3) Various Agencies actually spend the money (outlays or expenditures)
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “The actual amount of payments from the Treasury that result from obligations entered into by executing provisions in appropriations and direct spending legislation that provides budget authority. Outlays consist of payments, usually by check, by electronic fund transfer or cash to liquidate obligations incurred in prior Fiscal years as well as in the current Fiscal year.” 

Parliamentarian

• Both the Senate and the House have a legislative expert ,called a Parliamentarian, who provides assistance and advice as needed.
• Ref8 (https://crsreports.congress.gov/): “The House and the Senate each has an Office of the Parliamentarian to provide expert advice and assistance on questions relating to the meaning and application of that chamber’s legislative rules, precedents, and practices. The Speaker began naming a parliamentarian in 1927; the Senate first formally recognized its parliamentarian in 1935.”

Passback (see Formulation Phase of Budget Process)

• In November of the Budget Process Formulation Phase (Phase 1), the OMB decides on the budget and passes back their numbers to the Agencies for final review and possible appeal.

Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “.. refers to the requirements of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 that result in a sequestration if the estimated combined result of new legislation affecting direct spending or revenue increases the on-budget deficit relative to the baseline, as of the end of a congressional session. Administrative PAYGO, enacted in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Public Law 118-5), is separate from statutory PAYGO enforcement and does not apply to scoring legislation.” 
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): ” Discretionary and mandatory spending are controlled by different enforcement procedures. Congress controls discretionary budget authority and outlays through the congressional budget process governed by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under that Act, Congress sets limits on discretionary budget authority and outlays, in total and for specific categories of spending, through allocations and suballocations. For mandatory spending, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) reestablished and made permanent a statutory procedure to enforce deficit neutrality on new revenue and mandatory spending legislation”.

Payroll Taxes (See FICA, SECA, and FUTA)

• Payroll taxes are salary income taxes paid by employers and employees. Federal Payroll taxes are used to finance Social Security, Medicare Hospital Insurance, and Unemployment Insurance. Most states also levy payroll taxes (in 2023, only 9 states did not impose a state income tax…Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming). 
• Federal Payroll Taxes = FICA Taxes (for Social Security{OASI + DI} + Hospital Insurance{HI} Medicare)  +  SECA taxes (FICA type taxes for self employed individuals) + FUTA taxes (paid by employers to fund Unemployment Insurance).

Pigovian tax (see Excise Tax)

• An excise tax sometimes called a sin tax.

Point of Order

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “An objection raised on the House or Senate floor or in committees to an action being taken as contrary to that body’s rules. In the House, for example, a point of order may be raised under Rule XXI objecting to an appropriation in an appropriation bill that was not previously authorized by law. Many of the rules established in the Congressional Budget Act and related rules preclude the consideration of legislation that would violate totals in the budget resolutions, spending limits, or committee allocations. These rules are typically enforced through points of order. Points of order may be waived by a majority vote in the House. In the Senate, only points of order under the Budget Act may be waived (not points of order against actions that violate the Senate’s standing rules), but the waiver generally requires a three-fifths vote.

Power of the Purse

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “The United States Constitution gives Congress the power to levy taxes, to finance government operations through appropriations, and to prescribe the conditions governing the use of those appropriations. This power is referred to as the congressional “power of the purse.” The power derives from various provisions of the Constitution particularly article I, section 9, clause 7, which provides that: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.””
• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “Thus an agency may not draw money out of the Treasury to fund agency operations unless Congress has appropriated the money to the agency. At its most basic level, this means that it is up to Congress to decide whether to provide funds for a particular program or activity and to fix the level of that funding. Although the Constitution does not provide detailed instructions on how Congress is to do so, Congress has and continues to implement its power of the purse in two ways: through the enactment of laws that raise revenue and appropriate funds, including annual appropriations acts, and through the enactment of “fiscal statutes” that control and manage federal revenue and appropriations.” 

Presidential Budget Request (Proposal) or PBR – See Budget Request

• One of the deliverables of the US Federal Budget Process

Public Enterprise Fund (See Revolving Fund)

Receipts (Revenue)

• The US Federal Budget is a yearly accounting of the US Government’s cash inflows (Revenues or Receipts) and outflows (Outlays or Spend or Expenditures).
• Ref16: CBO-Historical Budget Data-Files : The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) categorizes Receipts into the following 6 categories: Income Taxes, Payroll Taxes, Corporate Income Taxes, Excise Taxes, Customs Duties, Miscellaneous Receipts
• Ref17: OMB-Historical Tables 1.1 – 16.2: The OMB’s (Office of Management and Budget) categorizations are almost identical.  SIRR or Social Insurance and Retirement Receipts roughly represents about 95%  of Payroll Taxes. Miscellaneous Receipts are broken down into  “Federal Reserve Deposits” and “Other”. 

Reconciliation / Reconciliation Bill 

• One of the possible deliverables of the US Federal Budget Process.
• The Reconciliation process (resulting in a Reconciliation Bill) allows Congress to quickly pass tax, spending, and debt limit legislation without the threat of a filibuster in the Senate. Reconciliation can be used to change Mandatory Spending programs.  The House and Senate Budget Committees draft Reconciliation Bills. 
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “An expedited procedure, provided under Section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act, for changing existing revenue or direct spending laws to implement budgetary policies established in a budget resolution. Reconciliation must begin with language in a budget resolution instructing specific committees to report legislation adjusting revenues or spending within their respective jurisdictions by specified amounts, usually by a specified deadline. The Budget Act (CBA of 1974) provides for expedited consideration of reconciliation bills in the Senate by limiting debate to 20 hours and limiting the content of amendments.”
• Filibusters are prohibited when considering Reconciliation Bills and therefore a simple Senate majority (with VP tiebreaker if necessary) can pass these bills. Can be very advantageous for the party controlling the Senate.   

Regular Order

• Regular Order refers to following the sequential steps and procedures that constitute the Federal Budget Process.  
• Ref (CRS-R46597): “Regular order is generally viewed as a systematic, step-by-step lawmaking process that emphasizes the role of committees: bill introduction and referral to committee; the conduct of committee hearings, markups, and reports on legislation; House and Senate floor consideration of committee-reported measures; and the creation of conference committees to resolve bicameral differences. Many Members and commentators view this sequential pattern as the ideal or “best practices” way to craft the nation’s laws.”

Revenue (Receipts; See Governmental Receipts)

• The US Federal Budget is a yearly accounting of the US Government’s cash inflows (Revenues or Receipts) and outflows (Outlays or Spend or Expenditures).
• Ref3: (CBO – 57660): “Revenues are funds that the federal government collects from the public using its sovereign power. About 90 percent of federal revenues come from individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, and social insurance taxes (which fund Social Security, Medicare, and other social insurance programs). Other sources include excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, duties on imported goods, remittances from the Federal Reserve, and various fees and fines.”
• Ref16 (CBO-Historical Budget Data-Files) : The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) categorizes Receipts into the following 6 categories: Income Taxes, Payroll Taxes, Corporate Income Taxes, Excise Taxes, Customs Duties, Miscellaneous Receipts.
• Ref17 (OMB-Historical Tables 1.1 – 16.2): The OMB’s (Office of Management and Budget) categorizations are almost identical.  SIRR or Social Insurance and Retirement Receipts roughly represents about 95%  of Payroll Taxes. Miscellaneous Receipts are broken down into  “Federal Reserve Deposits” and “Other”. 

Revolving Fund

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “Revolving fund means a fund that conducts continuing cycles of business-like activity, in which the fund charges for the sale of products or services and uses the proceeds to finance its spending, usually without requirement for annual appropriations. There are three types of revolving funds: Public enterprise funds,
  which conduct business-like operations mainly with the public, intragovernmental revolving funds, which conduct business-like operations mainly within and between Government agencies, and trust revolving funds, which conduct business-like operations mainly with the public and are designated by law as a trust fund.”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): Revolving Funds “…charge for the sale of products or services and use the proceeds to finance their spending.”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “There are two types of revolving funds in the Federal funds group. Public enterprise funds, such as the Postal Service Fund, conduct business-like operations mainly with the public. Intragovernmental funds, such as the Federal Buildings Fund, conduct business-like operations mainly within and between Government agencies.”

SECA (See FICA, FUTA, and Payroll Taxes)

• SECA imposes a payroll tax on self employed individuals. 
• The Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) of 1954 extends Social Security coverage to self-employed individuals. SECA based payroll taxes fund this coverage (tax on a portion of their net earnings to help fund Social Security and Medicare programs).
• Note that for funding Social Security benefits, FICA taxes apply to people who work for other companies while SECA taxes apply to self employed individuals. 
• Federal Payroll taxes consist of FICA taxes + SECA taxes (for self employed individuals) + FUTA taxes (Unemployment Insurance taxes). 

Sequestration

• Ref2 (CBPP): “Both PAYGO and discretionary funding caps are enforced by “sequestration” — across-the-board cuts in specified programs.”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “Sequestration is the cancellation of budgetary resources for budget enforcement purposes. Sequestration is required under certain circumstances as set forth in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA), as amended, and the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO Act).”

SIRR (Social Insurance and Retirement Receipts)

• SIRR is a US Government Federal Budget descriptor for Social Insurance and Retirement Receipts. 
• OMB Breaks down SIRR into the following categories (3) and subcategories (5):
• 1. Employment and general retirement
  a. Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) – Part of Social Security benefit
  b. Disability Insurance (DI) – Part of Social Security Benefit. Funded through the DI Trust Fund.
  c. Hospital Insurance (HI) – A Medicare Part A benefit funded through the HI Trust Fund.
  d. Railroad retirement/pension fund
  e. Railroad social security equivalent account
• 2. Unemployment insurance
• 3. Other retirement

SMI Trust Fund (see Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund and Medicare Funding)

Social Insurance (see SIRR)

• Social Insurance can be defined in more than one way (see this excellent Brookings article or this Investopedia article). In the US, it typically refers to the Government programs (Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance) into which employees and employers pay during their employment years. They then receive benefits when a qualifying event is satisfied (i.e. retired / disabled/ laid off). 

Social Insurance and Retirement Receipts (see SIRR)

Social Security Trust Funds (see OASI, See DI)

• The Social Security Trust Funds comprise the Old Age & Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund.

Special Fund

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11):”Special fund means a Federal fund account for receipts earmarked for specific purposes and the expenditure of these receipts”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “We establish a special fund where the law requires us to earmark collections from a specified source to finance a particular program, and the law neither authorizes the fund to conduct a cycle of business-type operations (making it a revolving fund) nor designates it as a trust fund.”

Subfunction (see Function Classification)

Super Functions (see Function Classification)

Supplemental Appropriation

• Ref4: Glossary of Terms – Federal Budget Process – GAO   “An act appropriating funds in addition to those already enacted in an annual appropriation act. Supplemental appropriations provide additional budget authority usually in cases where the need for funds is too urgent (e.g. for natural disasters or military operations) to be postponed until enactment of the regular appropriation bill  Supplementals may sometimes include items not appropriated in the regular bills for lack of timely authorizations.”

Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund (See Medicare Funding)

• One of two trust funds from which Medicare is paid through. SMI funds Medicare Part B and Part D.
• Ref24: Medicare Funding – medicare.gov: “Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund: Funded by: (a) Funds authorized by Congress (b) Premiums from people enrolled in Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) and Medicare drug coverage (Part D) (c) Other sources, like interest earned on the trust fund investments. It funds (a) Medicare Part B (b) Medicare Part D (c) Medicare Program administration, like costs for paying benefits and for fighting fraud and abuse.”
• The other Medicare Trust Fund is called the Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund which funds Medicare Part A.

Trust Fund (Federal Fund) – Specific to Federal Government Budgetary terms. 

• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “Trust fund refers to a type of account, designated by law as a trust fund, for receipts or offsetting receipts dedicated to specific purposes and the expenditure of these receipts. Some revolving funds are designated as trust funds, and these are called trust revolving funds. Trust revolving funds have no receipt account and the collections are credited directly to the expenditure account.”
• Ref10: (whitehouse.gov Circular No. A-11): “Like special funds and revolving funds, trust funds earmark collections for spending on specific purposes. Many of the larger trust funds finance social insurance payments for individuals, such as Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment compensation. Other major trust funds finance military and Federal civilian
  employees’ retirement, highway and mass transit construction, and airport and airway development.”
• Ref1: (CRS – R46240) : “The budget consists of two main groups of funds: Federal Funds and Trust funds. Federal funds, which comprise mainly the general fund, largely derive from the general exercise of the taxing power and general borrowing. For the most part, these funds are not designated in law for any specific program or agency, although there are also special funds that are designated with respect to their source or purpose…
• …Trust funds are established under the terms of statutes that specifically designate them as such and are available to fund only specific purposes (i.e. earmarked items). For example, the Social Security trust funds (the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Fund and the Disability Insurance Fund), which are the largest of the trust funds, comprise revenues collected under a Social Security payroll tax and are used to pay for Social Security benefits and related purposes.
• …The unified budget includes both the federal funds and the trust funds.”
• See Ref26: (GAO-01-199sp) also.

Trust Revolving Fund (see Revolving Fund, see Trust Fund)

Tax Types

• Taxes on what you earn (e.g. Payroll and other Income Tax). Pay is taxed at ordinary income tax rates. Other income (e.g. dividends and capital gains) are taxed at different levels depending on ownership duration.  
• Taxes on things you buy (e.g. tax on a car purchase)
• Taxes on things you own (e.g. property tax)

Undistributed Offsetting Receipts

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “Undistributed Offsetting Receipts are Offsetting Receipts that are deducted from totals for the government as a whole rather than from a single agency or subfunction in order to avoid distortion of agency or subfunction totals. Offsetting receipts that are undistributed in both agency and functional tables are the collections of employer share of employee retirement payments, rents, and royalties on the Outer Continental Shelf, and the sales of major assets. Interest received by trust funds is undistributed offsetting receipts in the agency tables, but is distributed by function (i.e., subfunction 950 in functional tables).”

Views and Estimate Report

• Ref4 (GAO-05-734SP ): “A report that the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires each House and Senate committee with jurisdiction over federal programs to submit to its respective budget committees each year within 6 weeks of the submission of the President’s budget, in advance of the House and Senate Budget Committees’ drafting of a concurrent resolution on the budget. Each report contains a committee’s comments or recommendations on budgetary matters within its jurisdiction.”

Vote-a-rama (Vote-arama, Vote-athon)

• Ref1: (CRS – R46240)
• The Senate defines a Vote-a-rama as “Legislation the Senate voted on 15 or more times in one day.” As of Nov 10, 2023, there have been 62 vote-a-ramas since 1977, ranging from 15 to 44 votes.
• Vote-a-rama pertains to Senate amendment and voting procedures, apparently coined by Trent Lott or his staffers, that are usually applied to Budget Resolutions or Budget Reconciliation Bills but can be done on any legislation. (Out of 62 so far (Nov 2023), 30.6% were applied to Budget Reconciliations, 38.7%  to Budget Resolutions, and 30.6% to other Bills.) 
• Vote-a-ramas allow any Senator to propose an unlimited number of amendments to a Reconciliation Bill or a Budget Resolution. Debate and voting times (minutes!) are accelerated during the process. 
• They are often exercised by minority Senate members with the purpose of  politicizing the Reconciliation Bill or Budget Resolution approval processes. (where minority voters don’t have recourse to Filibusters and where a simple majority vote is all that is needed.) 

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