FY2021 Budget Documents:
Internet and GPO Availability
Updated August 6, 2020
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R43475

FY2021 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Summary
Every year the President submits a series of volumes to Congress containing the President’s
proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. The President’s submission is required on or after the
first Monday in January, but no later than the first Monday in February (31 U.S.C. §1105(a)).
This year the President released the budget submission on February 10, 2020.
This report provides brief descriptions of the FY2021 budget volumes and related documents,
together with internet addresses, Government Publishing Office (GPO) stock numbers, and prices
for obtaining print copies of these publications. It also explains how to find the locations of
government depository libraries, which can provide both printed copies for reference use and
internet access to the online versions. This report wil be updated as events warrant.
Please note that neither the Congressional Research Service (CRS) nor the Library of Congress
(LOC) distributes print copies of the budget documents.
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FY2021 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Introduction
The President’s budget for FY2021 consists of a multivolume set of materials issued by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The materials contain information on new budget
proposals, summary tables, detailed financial information on individual programs and accounts,
economic analysis, historical data, explanations of the budget processes, and supporting
documents. Every year the President submits these materials to Congress at the start of the budget
cycle for the next fiscal year. The President’s submission is required on or after the first Monday
in January, but no later than the first Monday in February (31 U.S.C. §1105(a)). At times the
President’s submission has been delayed beyond the statutory deadline. This year the President
released the budget submission on February 10, 2020.1
Other budget-related documents include the annual Economic Report of the President, issued by
the Council of Economic Advisors, and the Budget and Economic Outlook, an annual publication
issued by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Details on these publications are included in
this report.
The President’s Budget Documents, FY2021
Both OMB and the Government Publishing Office (GPO) provide internet access to the main and
supporting budget documents, spreadsheet files, the public budget database, and budget
amendments and supplementals proposed by the President; see http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
budget and https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/BUDGET, respectively. OMB provides
additional summary table information on agency budgets and key issues in the form of fact
sheets, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fact-sheets/.
Information on purchasing print copies of these documents appears below, along with a brief
description of the contents of each document.
The Budget of the U.S. Government, FY2021
The annual budget volume contains information, charts, and graphs pertaining to the President’s
new budget proposals and overviews of government activities by topic (e.g., “Building a Better
Tomorrow” and “Stopping Wasteful and Unnecessary Spending”) within the FY2021 Budget
volume. Summary Tables (pp. 109-128) contain projections of budget baselines, receipts, and
outlays; deficits; debt; discretionary spending; and economic projections from FY2020 to
FY2030. Federal programs that have been recommended by the Administration for termination or
reduction are detailed in the document entitled Major Savings and Reforms, available at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/msar_fy21.pdf.
FY2021 Budget of the U.S. Government
(GPO stock number 041-001-00736-9, 132 pages, $25)

FY2021 Major Savings and Reforms
(GPO stock number 041-001-00739-3, 189 pages, $30)

1 For additional information on the origin of the requirements for and timing of the presidential budget submission,
including data on instances in which the submission has been delayed beyond the statutory deadline, see CRS Report
R43163, The President’s Budget: Overview of Structure and Tim ing of Subm ission to Congress, by Michelle D.
Christensen.
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The Budget of the U.S. Government, FY2021 (CD-ROM)
The FY2021 Budget CD-ROM contains the full content of the budget documents and most
supporting documents for the budget in PDF files. Some data files are also included in
spreadsheet format. The CD-ROM provides software to search, display, and print.
(GPO stock number 041-001-00736-9, $25)
Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government,
FY2021
This volume includes economic, accounting, and crosscutting analyses of government programs
and activities designed to highlight specific subject areas. It also includes information on federal
receipts and collections, analysis of federal spending, detailed information on federal borrowing
and debt, baseline or current service estimates, and other technical presentations. Chapter 14,
“Aid to State and Local Governments,” contains a series of tables (pp. 201-217) that provide
selected grant and other federal assistance data by state.
The FY2021 Analytical Perspectives volume contains supplemental materials including tables
showing the budget by agency and account and by function, subfunction, and program.2 The
supplemental materials also include data on direct and guaranteed loan transactions of the federal
government. The supplemental material is available on a CD-ROM, in the printed document, or
on the GPO website at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/BUDGET.
(GPO stock number 041-001-00738-5, $60, 322 pages)
Appendix, Budget of the United States Government, FY2021
Designed primarily for use by the House and Senate appropriations committees, the Appendix
contains more detailed financial information on individual programs and appropriations accounts
than any of the other budget documents submitted by the President. In many presidential budget
submissions, the volume often provides the following information for agencies:
 proposed text of the appropriation language,
 budget schedules for each account,
 new legislative proposals,
 explanations of the work to be performed and the funds needed, and
 proposed general provisions applicable to the appropriations of entire agencies or
groups of agencies.
Typical y, elements within this information are distinguished by varying font, so that, for
example, proposed appropriations (italics) and prior year funding (brackets and no italics) can be
compared at a glance:
For expenses necessary for the administration of the Department of Justice,

2 T he President’s FY2021 budget includes a “Glossary of Budget T erms” within Analytical Perspectives. See pp. 96-
100.
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[$114,740,000] $121,769,000, of which not to exceed $4,000,000 for security and
construction of Department of Justice facilities shall remain available until expended.
(Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2020)3
(GPO stock number 041-001-00737-7, $85, 1,402 pages)
Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government, FY2021
These detailed tables cover budget deficit/surplus, outlays, receipts, discretionary and mandatory
spending, federal debt, federal employment, payments for individuals, spending by function and
agency, and grants to states and local governments. These tables provide some data from 1940 (or
earlier) and estimates through FY2025. Historical data are adjusted by OMB to be consistent with
data in the FY2021 budget and to provide comparability over time. This year the Historical
Tables are available online in spreadsheet and PDF instead of print. The Historical Tables are
available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-tables/.
Economic Report of the President, 2020
This year’s annual Economic Report of the President was transmitted by the Council of Economic
Advisers to Congress in February. It presents the Administration’s economic policies and contains
the annual report of the Council of Economic Advisers. It also presents an overview of the
nation’s economic progress using text and extensive data appendices. Statistics include national
income and expenditures, government finance, population, employment, wages, productivity,
prices, debt measures, corporate finance, and international statistics. A set of the Economic Report
of the President for each year from 1995 to the present is available from the GPO website at
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/ERP/.
(GPO stock number 040-000-00798-9, $64, 435 pages)
Mid-Session Review
OMB issues revised estimates of budget receipts, outlays, and budget authority in the Mid-
Session Review. This annual document is typical y released in the summer following the
President’s budget submission. The FY2021 document is available at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/21msr.pdf.
(GPO stock number and ordering information not yet available.)
Agency Budget Justifications
After the President’s budget documents are released, Congress begins to hold hearings on agency
budget requests. Agencies must submit their budget justifications to the appropriations
subcommittees holding the hearings. Budget justifications general y contain more detailed
descriptions of an agency’s proposals and programs than are provided in the President’s budget
documents. As mandated by OMB in Section 22.6 of the 2006 edition of Circular A-11 and
subsequent editions, executive agencies are required to post their congressional budget
justification materials on the internet within two weeks of transmittal to Congress.4

3 Department of Justice, General Administration, from page 717 of the FY2021 Budget Appendix.
4 Each summer, OMB issues instructions to all federal executive departments and agencies on submitting budget data
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Typical y, Administration budget requests appear along with actual numbers for the previous
fiscal year. The content and structure of these submissions may vary and some materials may not
correspond exactly with the data and information provided to Congress in other fiscal years.5 A
short overview on the agency budget justification request can be found in CRS Report RS20268,
Agency Justification of the President’s Budget, by Michel e D. Christensen.
Additional Comparative Budget Data by Agency
and Account
Supporting Documents
OMB produces a number of additional documents that further examine certain budgetary
categories, including the Federal Credit Supplement, which provides summary information on
certain federal loan and loan guarantee programs through a series of detailed tables; Object Class
Analysis, a report on the federal government’s obligations as broken out by object classifications;
and Balances of Budget Authority, which provides data on unobligated balances carried forward
to the start of the next fiscal year. Al three documents are available online at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/supplemental-materials/.
Public Budget Database, FY2021
OMB also maintains a publicly accessible database in Excel and comma delimited format cal ed
the Public Budget Database. This resource provides account-level data on budget authority for
the years FY1976 to FY2025,6 and budget outlays and budget receipts for FY1962 to FY2025.
This resource is available via the OMB FY2021 Supplemental Materials website at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/supplemental-materials/ and on the GPO FY2021 budget
website at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/BUDGET/. A user’s guide to the Public
Budget Database is also available in PDF format on these sites.
Congressional Budget Office
Analysis of the President’s FY2021 Budget
This report provides an analysis of the President’s budgetary proposals and CBO’s updated
baseline budget projections. The FY2021 report is available at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/
56278.
(GPO ordering information is currently not available.)

and materials for inclusion in the President’s budget documents. T hese instructions are in a document entitled Circular
No. A-11: Preparation, Subm ission, and Execution of the Budget. Circular A-11 is available on the White House
website at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-for-agencies/circulars/. See Section 22.6.
5 Additional data may also be available directly from the agencies themselves via listed congressional liaison or
governmental affairs contacts in CRS Report 98-446, Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies, by
Audrey Celeste Crane-Hirsch. A listing of agencies included within each of the 12 regular appropriations bills is
available in CRS Report R40858, Locate an Agency or Program Within Appropriations Bills, by Justin Murray.
6 Budget authority data includes actual budget authority through FY2019 and estimates for FY2020 through FY2025.
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Budget and Economic Outlook: FY2020-FY2030
CBO’s baseline budget projections typical y span 11 fiscal years in its reports. The Budget and
Economic Outlook includes separate chapters on the economic outlook, outlays, and receipts.
This document was released on January 28, 2020, and includes discussions on current economic
conditions. The FY2020 report is available on the CBO website at https://www.cbo.gov/
publication/56020. CBO issues an annual summer update of the Budget and Economic Outlook
with adjusted projections. This document and other budget and economic information, including
CBO’s monthly budget review are available at http://www.cbo.gov/topics/budget.
(GPO stock number 052-070-07771-9, $34, 84 pages)

An Update to the Economic Outlook: FY2020-FY2030
On July 2, 2020, CBO released An Update to the Economic Outlook, FY2020-2030, which
includes economic forecasts through 2030 and incorporates information as of June 26, 2020. This
document is available online at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56442.
(GPO ordering information is currently not available.)
GPO Ordering Information
Printed copies of budget documents are available for purchase from GPO by the following
methods:
 online at the GPO website, at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/budget-economy/
federal-budgets-year;
 by telephone, (866) 512-1800 or (202) 512-1800;
 by fax, (202) 512-2104; or,
 by mail (check or money order) using the GPO order form at
https://bookstore.gpo.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/15-
091_publication_and_subscription_order_form.pdf, addressed to U.S.
Government Publishing Office, P.O. Box 979050, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000.
Depository Libraries
Budget documents are often available for reference use at large public or university libraries, or
any library participating in the Federal Library Depository Program. Addresses of the depository
libraries can be obtained through a local library; from GPO’s Customer Services department,
(866) 512-1800 or (202) 512-1800; or online from the GPO website at https://www.gpo.gov/
askgpo/.
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Websites on Budget Legislation
Congressional Staff
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has developed (for Members of Congress and their
staffs) web pages covering the budget and appropriations process.
 Appropriations and Budget Analysis. For CRS products on appropriations
status, jurisdictions, processes, current appropriations bil s, and other budget-
related resources, Members and congressional staff can access the CRS website
http://www.crs.gov/iap/appropriations. The CRS Appropriations Status Table, a
table which tracks the progress of major actions related to appropriations bil s, is
available at http://www.crs.gov/AppropriationsStatusTable/Index.
 CRS Products on the Federal Budget Process. Explanations of budget
concepts, terminology, congressional and executive budget process,
congressional budget timetable, budget resolutions and reconciliation, the
authorization and appropriations process, entitlements and discretionary
spending, the Budget Enforcement Act, sequestration, and surpluses/deficits are
available from the CRS website.
Public Use
The public may access Congress.gov, the Library of Congress’s legislative website. The site
includes a link to an Appropriations Status Table for the current year and several previous fiscal
years. Each table includes links to bil s, committee and conference reports, and votes for the 12
regular, and any supplemental, appropriations bil s for that fiscal year. The Congress.gov public
version of the Appropriations Status Table is available directly at https://crsreports.congress.gov/
AppropriationsStatusTable.

Author Information

Justin Murray

Senior Research Librarian

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FY2021 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should n ot be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

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