From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Date Shifting / Fiscal Transparency / Fiscal Illusion One of the budgetary maneuvers used by Congress. Congress can shift scheduled payments for contracts, or even for federal employee salaries, by a few days in order to move expenditures from one fiscal year to another. For … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms “Emergency” Spending / Emergency photo credit: vonderauvisuals Spending with the “emergency” designation does not count against budget caps. While often used for one-time, unforeseen events, this designation has also been used to circumvent budget limits. For example, spending for the census has been designated as … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Supplemental Appropriation / Supplemental Appropriations Act Budget authority provided in an appropriations act in addition to regular or continuing appropriations already provided. Supplemental appropriations generally are made to cover emergencies, such as disaster relief, or other needs deemed too urgent to be postponed until the … Read more