From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Revenues photo credit: DonkeyHotey Revenues: Income from individual and corporate income taxes, social insurance taxes, excise taxes, fees, tariffs, and other sources collected under the sovereign powers of the federal government. Revenues, also known as receipts, are the funds collected from the public primarily as … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Reimbursement photo credit: Señor Codo A sum (1) that is received by an agency as a payment for commodities sold or services furnished either to the public or to another government account and (2) that is authorized by law to be credited directly to specific … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Unfilled Customer Orders photo credit: Sam Beebe / Ecotrust The dollar amount of orders accepted from other accounts within the government for goods and services to be furnished on a reimbursable basis. In the case of transactions with the public, these orders are amounts advanced … Read more
Filibuster / Unlimited Debate Creative Commons License photo credit: PatrickRohe When a senator is recognized to speak on a pending measure, few limitations are placed on her. Debate is generally unlimited on all pending measures. A senator may yield to another senator for a question, but the senator still controls the floor. One of the … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Cloture / Rule XXII / Nuclear Option photo credit: Robbie1 Cloture is the process by which a filibuster can be ended in the Senate other than by unanimous consent. Cloture is the only procedure by which the Senate can vote to set an end to … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Public Debt / Debt Ceiling / Debt Limit Debt Limit – A Guide to American Federal Debt Made Easy Public Debt: Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account. The … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Federal Debt The Debt Ceiling Explained: Why You Should Care The federal debt consists of public debt, which occurs when the Treasury of the Federal Financing Bank (FFB) borrows money directly from the public or other funds or accounts, and government debt / … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Nongermane Amendment photo credit: bfelice An amendment that would add new and different subject matter to, or may be irrelevant to, the bill or other measure it seeks to amend. Senate rules permit nongermane amendments in all but a few specific circumstances. The amending process … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Federal Financing Bank (FFB) photo credit: Alun Salt The Federal Financing Bank (FFB) is a government corporation, created by Congress in the Federal Financing Bank Act of 1973 (12 U.S.C. 2281 et seq.), under the general supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury (31 U.S.C. … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Financial Statements photo credit: Metro Centric A document that describes an entity’s financial activity and status for a specified period. Under federal law and applicable accounting standards, the financial statements for a federal agency usually include a balance sheet, statement of net cost, statement of … Read more