From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974

The 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act (Pub.L. 93-344, 88 Stat. 297, July 12, 1974) 2 U.S.C. Chapter 17A, Congressional Budget and Fiscal Operations) requires the House and Senate each year to adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget, which serves as a guide for the subsequent consideration of spending, revenue, and debt-limit legislation. The 1974 act created the House and Senate Budget Committees to develop the budget resolution and monitor compliance with its policies, and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to serve as an independent, nonpartisan agency to provide budgetary information and analysis for Congress.
The Act established a process through which Congress could systematically consider the total spending policy of the United States and determine priorities for allocating budgetary resources. The process calls for procedures for coordinating congressional revenue and spending decisions made in separate tax, appropriations, and legislative measures. It established the House and Senate Budget Committees, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the procedures for congressional review of impoundments in the form of rescissions and deferrals proposed by the President, and the comptroller general (GAO) was given an oversight role in this process.
Panel 1: The History of the 1921 and 1974 Budget Acts
See also Budget Enforcement Act; Congressional Budget Office (CBO); Deferral of Budget Authority; Government Accountability Office / GAO / Comptroller General; Gramm-Rudman-Hollings; Impoundment; Rescission; § 7.10 Key Budget Process Laws, § 7.40, Presidential Budget Process, in Congressional Deskbook; The Federal Budget Process.
More
- House Budget Committee
- Senate Budget Committee
- Federal Budget Links and Research Tools – TheCapitol.Net
- Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 – Wikipedia
- 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act – The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
- “The Congressional Budget Process Timetable,” CRS Report 98-472 (8-page PDF
)
- “Committee on the Budget in the House of Representatives: Structure and Responsibilities,” CRS Report R40774 (13-page PDF
)
- “Congressional Budget Act Points of Order,” CRS Report 98-876 (8-page PDF
)
- “Congressional Budget Resolutions,” CRS Report RS20541 (8-page PDF
)
- “Overview of the Congressional Budget Process,” CRS Report RS20368 (3-page PDF
)
- “Introduction to the Federal Budget Process,” CRS Report 98-721 (38-page PDF
)
- “Budget Process and Enforcement,” Parliamentary Boot Camp (4-page PDF
)
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CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net
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