From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Vice President Under the Constitution (Article I, Section 3), the vice president serves as President of the Senate. He may vote in the Senate in the case of a tie but is not required to. The President Pro Tempore (and others designated by him) usually … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Oversight / Oversight Committee Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a federal agency or program. Oversight Committee: A congressional committee, or designated subcommittee of a committee, charged with general oversight of one or more federal agencies activities. Usually, the oversight panel for a particular … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Presidential Signature / Presidential Signing Statements A proposed law passed by Congress must be presented to the president, who then has 10 days to approve or disapprove it (Article. I. Section. 7.). The president signs bills he supports, making them law. He vetoes a bill … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Advice and Consent / Plum Book photo credit: mikecogh Advice and Consent: Under the Constitution, Article. II. Section. 2., presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts (including ambassadors, Cabinet secretaries, federal judges, and military officers) take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Antideficiency Act / Antideficiency Act Violation photo credit: .through my eyes. The Antideficiency Act is a federal law (Pub.L. 97-258, 96 Stat. 923, 1982, 31 U.S.C. §§ 1341-1342, 1511-1519) that: Prohibits the making of expenditures or the incurring of obligations in advance of an appropriation … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Agency photo credit: independentman Agency: No one definition of this term has general, governmentwide applicability. “Agency” and related terms, like “executive agency” or “federal agency,” are defined in different ways in different laws and regulations. For example, the provisions of the Budget and Accounting Act … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Intragovernmental Transfers photo credit: Tom – Switzerland Collections from other federal government accounts, often as payment for goods or services provided. Most offsetting receipts from intragovernmental transfers are offset against budget authority and outlays of the agency or subfunction that produced the goods or services. … 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
“The seven stages of the office seeker,” by Edward Williams Clay (artist) and John Childs (lithographer). Image and text from the Library of Congress: A satire on patronage and corruption in New York State politics, based on the medieval theme, perpetuated in American folk art, of the “life and ages of man.” Here the seven … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms photo credit: TimothyJ A chart of accounts (and technical guidance) established to support the consistent recording of financial events as well as the preparation of standard external reports required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Treasury. Agencies are … Read more