The US budget, also known as the Budget of the United States Government, is primarily a federal document. It is presented by the president of the USA to the US Congress.
The US budget basically provides an outline of the funding recommendations that are to be followed in the coming financial year. In the USA, financial year begins on the 1st of October every year. This submission is done as per the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921.
Important Processes of US Budget
The decisions taken by the US Congress regarding the budget are regularized by the rules and legislations that have been formulated with regard to the process of federal budget. The Budget committees of the House and the Senate are responsible for developing budget resolutions. These resolutions provide the limits of expenditure as far as the subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees of the House and the Senate are concerned
Appropriation Bills
The subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House consequently provide their approval to the individual appropriation bills. These bills are very important as the spending limits of the subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees are finalized through these bills. Once these are finalized, the subcommittees can allocate the money in different sectors like defense, internal security, agriculture, urban development, energy, health, labor, trade and commerce and foreign operations.
Final Stages of the US Budget
After the discussions are over and the appropriations bill has been approved by the Congress the budget is returned back to the President for his signature. After the President's signature, the budget is considered as approved and it becomes legal. The President can also exercise his veto rights and send back the appropriations to the Congress. In such situations, if the appropriations get two-thirds majority in both the houses, they are considered as law.
Long Term Issues of the US Budget
The long term issues of the US budget are the ones which have, historically, received the maximum amount of attention when the budget has come into force. Following are some of the major long term issues of the US budget:
- Mandatory Spending
- Medicare
- Entitlements
- Medicaid
- Social Security
Current Issues of US Budget
Following issues that are regarded with importance in the context of the US budgets in the recent times:
- Deficit Spending
- Implications of the Tax Cuts of 2001 and 2003
- Increases of Debt
- Dynamic Scoring
- Earmarks
- Supply Side Economics and Taxes
- Responding to Economic Slowdown of 2008
- War Funding