Friday, April 16, 2010
Under the Congressional Budget Process, annual appropriations cannot move forward until the House and Senate agree to a Budget Resolution for the year ahead, setting forth aggregate levels of spending and revenues and allocating to the respective Appropriations Committees "302 allocations" (the Budget Act section) for further allocation among their respective Subcommittees. But, there are ways around the requirement. Some have already floated the possibility of "deeming" last year's budget blueprint as controlling for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2010. The move is not unprecedented (not much is!).
Budget Resolution or not, expect appropriations measures to move forward (first in the House) after May 15. Whether any of the 12 annual measures is completed and in place before the fiscal year begins is anybody's guess. Extraneous riders (and plenty of election year posturing) will likely cloud the details of funding government operations and the various grant and contracts underwritten by annual appropriations (everything from preschool (Head Start) to national defense to space exploration to NIH research).
Budget Process Update
House and Senate consideration of a Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Resolution remains uncertain as Budget Committee leaders have signaled their intention to move forward, pending a final decision by their respective Caucuses. Completing matters is the upcoming mid-term election with all House seats and one-third of the Senate up for grabs. Voter discontent over the budget, the economy, and health care reform are major considerations in further action on the annual budget blueprint. Add to that President Obama's appointment of a Deficit Commission, chaired by former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and former Senator Alan Simpson, tasked with coming up with concrete solutions in a report due December 1.
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