How it works: in practice
The 2018
Budget Process
How it works: in theory
The Budget Process
Although there is a “textbook”
path that politicians try to follow when
passing a budget, they almost always
deviate wildly from it. In fact, it has been
22 years since Congress passed all 12
appropriations bills using the regular
process. In 2018, the budget resolution
was six months late, so Congress
resorted to continuing resolutions, a
government shutdown (complicated by
negotiations over DACA and the
“Dreamers,” as we discussed in Chapter
11) , and eventually an omnibus bill that
combined the 12 appropriations bills.CBO does
its thing.July 13: CBO submits
its analysis of the
president’s budget— 176
days late. (But who’s
counting? Oh, I guess
we are.)Finally.
October 26: The House
passes the Senate’s
budget resolution
(more than six months
behind schedule).Passed.
May 23: Congress
passes an omnibus
spending bill
authorizing $1.3 trillion
in spending and
$1.9 billion in tax cuts
(over 10 years).Wait, can they
do that?June–July: House and
Senate Appropriations
Committees forge
ahead without a
budget resolution.
(Yes, they can do that.)Cleaning up
last year’s
mess.May 5, 2017: Congress
passes an omnibus
spending bill to fund the
government through
the end of the 2017 fiscal
year. This bill should
have been passed by
October 1, 2016.What about
the Dreamers?December–January:
Democrats want to
attach a solution for the
Dreamers to the budget,
but cannot make progress.
They agree to three
separate continuing
resolutions to keep the
government open.Shut down!
January 19–22, 2018:
With no progress on
the Dreamers, Senate
Democrats shut down
the government for
three days before
agreeing to another
continuing resolution.A deal!
February 9: Trump signs
a two-year budget deal
with $300 billion
in additional spending
and yet another
continuing resolution
to keep the government
open through May 23.Let’s make
a deal!September 8: Congress
enacts the deal that
Trump strikes with
minority leaders Chuck
Schumer and Nancy
Pelosi to suspend the
debt ceiling and fund
the government through
December 8.Starting a
little late.May 23: President Trump
submits his budget
for the 2018 fiscal
year—106 days late.Whatever...
Over the summer,
the budget committees
fail to pass a budget
resolution. This should
have been passed by
April 15.But...that’s
backward!On September 14,
the House passes all 12
appropriations bills; on
October 5, it passes its
budget resolution. The
Senate passes its own
budget resolution on
October 19.First Monday in February:
The president submits budget request
to Congress.February 15:
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issues
budget and economic outlook report.Within six weeks of
president’s submission:
Other committees with budgetary
responsibilities submit “views and
estimates” to budget committees.Early April:
House Budget Committee creates
its budget resolution and the House
votes on it.Early April:
Senate Budget Committee
creates its budget resolution and
the Senate votes on it.Early April:
Budget Conference Committee
reconciles the House and Senate
versions of the budget resolution.By April 15:
House votes on conference version.
Senate votes on conference version.Appropriations:
After both houses approve the budget
resolution, appropriations committees draft
legislation authorizing expenditures to the
relevant agencies. Each appropriations bill
must be passed by both houses and signed
into law by the president. If this process is not
completed by October 1, and no temporary
measure (a “continuing resolution”) is in
place, the government will shut down.October 1:
Start of the fiscal year.- How might the type of
“brinkmanship” budgeting
described here—that is, using
the threat of a government
shutdown to achieve
nonbudgetary policy goals—
affect the economy? - If you were a businessperson
trying to decide whether
or not to expand, would the
uncertainty created by a
threatened shutdown affect
your decision?
Critical Thinking
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