Baseline / Baseline Budgeting / Scorekeeping (CongressionalGlossary.com)

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Baseline / Baseline Budgeting / Scorekeeping   Dan Mitchell Discussing Dishonest Budget Numbers with John Stossel   Baseline: Projection of future revenues, budget authority, outlays, and other budget amounts under assumed economic conditions and participation rates without a change in current policy. The Congressional Budget … Read more

Budget Deficit / Budget Surplus (CongressionalGlossary.com)

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Budget Deficit / Budget Surplus   Lesson 1 National Debt & Budget Deficit Explained   The relationship between spending and revenues is reflected in the surplus or deficit figure. A surplus is an excess of revenues over outlays, while a deficit is an excess of … Read more

Entitlement Authority / Entitlement Program (CongressionalGlossary.com)

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Entitlement Authority photo credit: anarchosyn A provision of law that requires payments to any person, business, or unit of government that meets the eligibility requirements established by such law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the federal government, and eligible recipients have … Read more

Fiscal Year / Prior Year (CongressionalGlossary.com)

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Fiscal Year photo credit: MBoy68 Fiscal Year: Any yearly accounting period, regardless of its relationship to a calendar year. The federal government’s annual accounting period. Financial operations of the government are carried out in a 12-month accounting year, beginning on October 1 and ending on … Read more

Federal Debt (CongressionalGlossary.com)

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