From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Backdoor Authority / Backdoor Spending A colloquial phrase for budget authority provided in laws other than appropriations acts, including contract authority and borrowing authority, as well as entitlement authority and the outlays that result from that budget authority. Fiscal Law #1 – Overview … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Authorization / Authorization Act Authorization – Provision in law that establishes or continues a program or agency and authorizes appropriations for it. Basic, substantive legislation that establishes or continues the legal operation of a federal program or agency, either indefinitely or for a specific period … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Budget Authority photo credit: Carly & Art The key terms of federal spending are budget authority, obligations, outlays, and spendout rate. Congress and the president enact budget authority in law. Budget authority allows federal agencies to incur obligations, such as entering into contracts, employing personnel, … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Appropriation Act / Appropriation Bill / Continuing Resolution / Continuing Appropriations photo credit: BarelyFitz Appropriation Act: A statute, under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, that generally provides legal authority for federal agencies to incur obligations and to make payments out … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Appropriation / Cardinals of Congress David Hawkings’ Whiteboard: How Appropriations is Supposed to Work Appropriation: Provision of law that provides authority for federal agencies to obligate funds and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. Appropriations for the federal government … Read more