Keira Timmins
The Federal Budget
Directions: Follow the links or the QR Codes to find
the information you need to answer the questions.
https://www.usa.gov/budget
Questions
1. How many steps are there in the Federal
Government’s budget process?
2. When does the President give Congress his
proposal for the following year’s budget?
3. Who creates budget resolutions?
4. How are differences between the House and
Senate Budgets resolved?
5. How do Appropriations Committees distribute
funding?
6. How are appropriations bills approved?
7. How does the bill become a law?
8. What happens if the President doesn’t sign the bill
by September 30?
9. What happens if a budget does not pass?
10. What is the government’s fiscal year?
11. What are the three spending areas the Federal
Budget covers?
12. What is an Omnibus Bill, and why would one be
created?
13. What is a deficit and a surplus?
©Leah Cleary 2018
Webquest
Answers
Seven
The first Monday in Feburary
Congress
A conference committee
They decide it between 12
subcommittees then conduct hearings.
The Senate and House approve it then send it
to the President.
Congress approves it and the President
signs it.
It becomes a law without a signature
Congress passes a continuing resolution
authorizing temporary funding at the previous
year’s levels or face a government shutdown.
October 1st-September 30th
 Mandatory spending, 30% is discretionary
spending, and the rest is interest payments
on debt.
A single document that is accepted in a
single vote by a legislature. It is created if
Congress can't agree on 12 seperate bills.
Deficit: When the amount of money the government collects in
taxes and other revenue in a given year is less than the amount it
spends\
Surplus: The government takes in more money than it spends.
18
 14. How is the deficit financed?
15. What is the national debt?
16. What is the debt ceiling, and what happens if it’s
hit?
 By the sale of Treasury
securities
Part of what the government spends
money on each year is the interest owed
on all years’ deficits combined
The maximum amount of debt the
government allows itself to hold. If it's hit
can't borrow money or pay bills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2iPcCmtbFQ

Components of Federal
Debt

Growing Debt
Government Reduces the
Accounts The Public government’s Respond to
Money the federal
_____________________ _____________________
Federal debt held by investors ability to new or
government owes
_____________________ _____________________
outside of the government. unexpected
another part of the
_____________________ _____________________ challengs
___
federal government.

Federal
Budget Why is our current
We measure debt compared to debt held
deficits debt unsustainable?
by the When does during
Financing deficits and servicing
__________________
public as adebt rise and __________________
the debt consumes an ever-
GPD wars and
share of fall? __________________
growing proportion of the
recessions
GPD __________________
nation's income

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So2OQW6gR6I

thousands
1. Every second, debt increases by __________________________ of dollars.

2. The government is in debt because it is ____________________

spending taking in
more money than it is ________________.

3. How does the government get revenue? Income and pay roll taxes

borrowing
4. Without __________________________ money, the government wouldn’t be able to invest as much in
education, national security, and infrastructure.
5. How does the government borrow money, and how does this accrue interest? It issues bonds

6. Who is the largest buyer of U.S. debt? American people

©Leah Cleary 2018 18

 boost
7. Most economists agree it’s okay to go into debt when the economy needs a __________________.

8. What is the debt problem now?

It is set to increase to it's highest level

9. What are two reasons the debt will continue to increase? The tax cuts and job act and the
population is getting older
10. The International Monetary Fund has warned that over the next five years the U.S. is the only advanced
GDP
economy where debt relative to _______________ is likely to increase.
11. How can the debt problem be addressed? Raising taxes and cutting spending

a million dollars
12. During the video, interest on the national debt in creased by more than ___________________________.

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current
Look at the most current
national debt data. Then enter To find percent increase:
your date of birth into the Increase = New Number – Original Number
historical search (simply enter Percent Increase = Increase / Original number x 100
beginning date), and fill out the
information below.

Current Your Birthday Percent Increase

Total Public Debt $31,352,797,927,277.98 $8,696,353,575,213.24 260.528096

Outstanding

http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Study the U.S. Debt Clock. Use the information to fill
out the chart below. For the category definition, on
the clock, move the curser over the category title.

Category Definition Total

U.S. Debt Per Citizen The US national debt divided $94,200
by the number of US citizens

U.S. Federal Tax Revenue Income tax, payroll tax,

corporate tax, duties, and $4,902,015,431,824
excise tax
A basic measure of the market value
U.S. GDP of all final goods and services made $25,785,047,503,348
within the borders of the US in a
year
Gross Debt to GDP Ratio The total of all government debt 135.55%
including state, local, and federal

Net Interest on Debt U.S. Treasury notes and bonds,

Government Account Series and $484,372,033,008
other special purpose securities

Monetary Base The sum of bank reserves and

the currency in circulation 5.340T

©Leah Cleary 2018 18

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPOv72Awo68

Road In And Out Of

The 2008 Financial
Crisis

Explain three government

interventions.
mortages, credit
default swaps,
mortage backed-
securities “The fault lies not in
the ______________
stars
us
but in _________.”

What happened to many big

lenders, and what was the role
What changed about mortgages
of Credit Default Swaps?
in the 2000s?
Big lenders declared
bankruptcy. Credit Default
Swaps were sold as They started buying mortage
insurance against mortage backed securtities
backed securities.

How did supply and demand

cause the housing bubble?

Supply was up and

demand was down so
home prices started
collpasing.

“Growing debt reduces the government’s ability to respond to new challenges.” What are the
implications of this quote and the U.S.’s current debt situation if there is another financial crisis?

It causes lower savings and income as well as higher interest payments

and spending cuts. This makes a greater risk of a fiscal crisis.

©Leah Cleary 2018 18