Budget and

Appropriations
A year-long fight that will always keep reporters
employed

Ben Weyl, Editor of Politico Pros Budget & Appropriations Brief

National Press Foundation
Oct. 17, 2016

Budget Breakdown

Discretionary Spending

The Presidents Budget

Produced by the White House Office of Management
and Budget
OMB Director: Shaun Donovan

A wish-list laying out the administrations agenda

Obamas last budget: Tax on oil, moon shot to end cancer

Congress: Dead on arrival

Congressional Budgets
A non-binding resolution not a bill that is signed by the president
Passed by a simple majority in Senate and House
A partisan messaging document, or statement of principles

Provides a discretionary spending total for the years appropriations

302(a) allocation

Allows for powerful tool of budget reconciliation

Budget Reconciliation
Used to execute the budget resolutions directives.
A bill with privileged status in the Senate: it cannot be
filibustered.
Must abide by certain parliamentary rules
Must have some effect on tax or spending levels.
If the bill increases the deficit after 10 years, provisions sunset.

Past examples: 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, 2010 Obamacare

Appropriations
Fights over funding
Fights over policy
Always partisan in the House
Sometimes bipartisan in the Senate

Appropriations
302(b) allocations for 12 subcommittees:
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Defense
Energy and Water Development
Financial Services and General Government
Homeland Security
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Legislative Branch
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Fiscal 2017 by the Numbers

0 budgets adopted by the House or Senate
12 appropriations bills approved by House and Senate committees
House passed 5 appropriations bills; 1 defeated on floor
Senate passed 3 appropriations bills; 1 filibustered, 1 dropped
1 appropriations bill signed by president by Oct. 1
1 continuing resolution passed to fund the government through Dec. 9

Lame Duck Appropriations

Democrats Goals
No increase in defense
spending without nonRepublicans Goals
defense boost
Higher defense spending
No conservative policy
Lots of conservative policy riders
mini-buses, not an omnibus
riders
Bipartisan Goals
Aid for Flint, Michigans water crisis
Disaster aid for flooding (and
hurricanes?)
Get out of town by Dec. 9

Next Year, and Beyond

Strict spending caps return under the 2011 Budget Control Act
Debt ceiling reinstated March 16, 2017
But were safe until summer 2017 because of Treasurys extraordinary
measures.

Rewriting the 1974 Congressional Budget Act?

Probably not.

Reducing the deficit and debt?

No.

Key Senators
Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)
Appropriations Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)

Budget Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)

Budget Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

Key Representatives
Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.)
Appropriations Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.)

Budget Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.)

Budget Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)

Useful Resources
White House Budget: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget
Congressional Budget Office: www.cbo.gov
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: http://crfb.org
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: www.cbpp.org
Center for American Progress: https://
www.americanprogress.org
Heritage Foundation: http://www.heritage.org
Bipartisan Policy Center: www.bipartisanpolicy.org
Tax Policy Center: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org