INSIGHTi
Omnibus Appropriations: Overview of Recent
Practice
March 1, 2024
Congress makes decisions on discretionary spending through the annual appropriations process, which
currently consists of the development and consideration of 12 regular appropriations bills for each fiscal
year. Historically, regular appropriations bills were considered individually and enacted as standalone
laws. In recent practice, however, Congress has often taken procedural action at some point in the
appropriations process to combine some or all of the regular appropriations bills into a single measure.
These measures are commonly referred to as omnibus or “consolidated” appropriations measures.
(Consolidated legislation containing only some of the regular appropriations bills may also be referred to
as a “minibus.”)
Omnibus appropriations measures have played a significant role in completing the appropriations process
for many fiscal years in recent decades. This has been particularly true since FY1997, the last time all
regular appropriations were enacted by the October 1 start of the fiscal year. Since then, Congress has
typically passed continuing resolutions (CRs) to provide interim funding beyond October 1 until regular
appropriations have been enacted. For many fiscal years over this period, minimal progress on the
consideration of some or all regular appropriations bills, paired with impending funding deadlines, has
made the legislative efficiency associated with omnibus measures advantageous or necessary for
completing the appropriations process. As a result, most regular appropriations bills signed into law in
recent decades have been enacted as part of omnibus measures.
This Insight examines three issues related to omnibus appropriations that have been of congressional
interest: the frequency of enacting omnibus appropriations, the extent to which Congress considered
regular appropriations bills prior to including them in omnibus measures, and the inclusion of unrelated
legislative provisions in such measures.
Frequency of Omnibus Appropriations
For nearly two centuries, regular appropriations bills were considered and enacted as individual measures.
In 1950, Congress undertook what was considered at the time a one-time experiment intended to improve
legislative efficiency by enacting all of the regular appropriations bills for FY1951 in a single measure
(P.L. 759, 81st Congress). The following year, for FY1952, Congress returned to the practice of
considering regular appropriations bills individually. This practice continued until 1982, when Congress
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enacted an omnibus appropriations measure containing three of the regular appropriations bills for
FY1983 (P.L. 97-377).
Omnibus appropriations have been a common feature of the appropriations process since 1982. At least
one measure containing two or more regular appropriations acts has been signed into law for 28 of the 41
fiscal years from FY1983 through FY2023. In total, 34 omnibus appropriations measures have been
enacted since 1982, serving as the legislative vehicle for 264, or 51.5%, of the 513 possible regular
appropriations bills over this period.
In recent practice, the vast majority of regular appropriations bills have been signed into law as part of
omnibus appropriations measures. At least one omnibus measure containing multiple regular
appropriations bills was enacted for each of the 12 fiscal years from FY2012 through FY2023 (see Figure
1). Over this period, all but two (135 out of 137) regular appropriations bills signed into law were enacted
as part of omnibus appropriations measures. (Seven regular appropriations bills for FY2013 were covered
under a full-year CR [Division F of P.L. 113-6]). For seven of these fiscal years (FY2013, FY2014,
FY2016, FY2018, FY2021, FY2022, and FY2023), all full-year appropriations (either regular or, in the
case of FY2013, covered under a full-year CR) were enacted in single omnibus measures. FY2006 was
the last fiscal year for which all regular appropriations bills were enacted individually.
Figure 1. Enacted Regular Appropriations by Measure: FY2012-FY2023
Base Budget Authority (in Trillions)
Sources: Figure created by CRS using information compiled from the Congressional Budget Office’s Status of Discretionary
Appropriations reports for the House for FY2012-FY2023, CRS’s Appropriations Status Table, and Congress.gov.
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Notes: This graphic shows base discretionary appropriations (budget authority) enacted for each fiscal year from FY2012
through FY2023 by measure (P.L. number). All but two regular appropriations bil s enacted over this period were enacted
in omnibus measures. The two exceptions to this were the Homeland Security Appropriations Act for FY2015 (P.L. 114-4)
and the Military Construction-Veteran’s Affairs appropriations bil for FY2017 (Division A of P.L. 114-223). This graphic
includes only base discretionary budget authority enacted for each year, meaning that it excludes certain types of spending
that are exempt from budget enforcement rules (such as spending for emergencies, disaster relief, and overseas
contingency operations).
Prior Consideration of Regular Appropriations Bills
Some Members have voiced concern that the use of omnibus vehicles to complete the appropriations
process may reduce the opportunities for debating and amending the regular appropriations bills that are
incorporated into such measures. This concern may be lessened if the House or Senate previously
considered and passed the regular appropriations bills incorporated into omnibus measures prior to action
on a final version.
From FY2012 through FY2023, there were a total of 135 regular appropriations bills enacted in 16
omnibus measures. Of these regular appropriations bills, the House Appropriations Committee had
previously reported 129 (95.56 %), and the House had passed 65 (48.15 %) on initial consideration prior
to their enactment in omnibus measures. The Senate Appropriations Committee had previously reported
91 (67.41%) of these regular appropriations bills, and the Senate had passed 14 (10.37%) on initial
consideration prior to their enactment in omnibus measures.
Inclusion of Legislative Provisions
Due to their scope, timing, and various other political factors, omnibus appropriations measures have
often been used as vehicles to address other legislative priorities. Nine of the 16 omnibus appropriations
measures enacted from FY2012 through FY2023 included additional divisions containing legislation
unrelated to the appropriations process for that fiscal year (i.e., provisions unrelated to regular,
supplemental, or continuing appropriations). These additional divisions have often included legislation
related to the extension of existing authorizations, as well as legislation establishing new programs,
projects, or activities (for example, see Divisions M through MM of P.L. 117-328, the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023).
Author Information
Drew C. Aherne
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
Disclaimer
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