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 “Must Pass” Bill A vitally important measure that Congress must enact, such as annual money bills to fund operations of the government. Because of their must-pass quality, these measures often attract “riders” (unrelated policy provisos). Members of the House and Senate announced on Monday that … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Reduction photo credit: eamoncurry123 Cancellation of the availability of budgetary resources previously provided by law before the authority would otherwise lapse. Reductions can be account specific and across-the-board. (See also Rescission; Sequestration.) “Will the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction Succeed?” by Sarah A. Binder, … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Collections photo credit: thewebprincess Amounts received by the federal government during the fiscal year. Collections are classified into three major categories: (1) governmental receipts (also called budget receipts or federal receipts), (2) offsetting collections, and (3) offsetting receipts. Governmental receipts result from the exercise of … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Expense Achieving Transparency And Accountability In Federal Spending (Part 1 of 2) Outflow or other depletion of assets or incurrences of liabilities (or a combination of both) during some period as a result of providing goods, rendering services, or carrying out other activities … Read more