The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction

This report describes the annual appropriations cycle from the President’s submission of his annual budget through enactment of the appropriations measures. It describes the three types of appropriations measures—regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, and supplemental bills. It explains the spending ceilings for appropriations bills that are associated with the budget resolution and the sequestration process, including a description of the mechanisms used to enforce the ceilings. It also explains the authorization appropriations process, which prohibits certain provisions in some of the appropriations bills.

Order Code 97-684 GOV
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
The Congressional Appropriations Process:
An Introduction
Updated December 6, 2004
Sandy Streeter
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

The Congressional Appropriations Process:
An Introduction
Summary
Congress annually considers 13 or more appropriations measures, which provide
funding for numerous activities, for example, national defense, education, homeland
security, and crime. These measures also fund general government operations such
as the administration of federal agencies. Congress has developed certain rules and
practices for the consideration of appropriations measures, referred to as the
congressional appropriations process.
Generally, the congressional appropriations process includes the
! annual appropriations cycle;
! spending ceilings for appropriations associated with the annual
budget resolution; and
! prohibitions against certain language in appropriations measures that
violate separation of the authorization and appropriation functions
into separate measures.
There are three types of appropriations measures. Regular appropriations bills
provide most of the funding that is provided in all appropriations measures for a
fiscal year, and must be enacted by October 1 of each year. If regular bills are not
enacted by the deadline, Congress adopts continuing resolutions to continue funding
generally until regular bills are enacted. Supplemental bills are considered later and
provide additional appropriations.
Appropriations measures are under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees. These committees control only about one-third of total
federal spending provided for a fiscal year. The House and Senate authorizing
committees control the rest.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Annual Appropriations Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
President Submits Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Congress Adopts Budget Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Timetable for Consideration of Appropriations Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Work of the Appropriations Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
House and Senate Floor Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Senate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
House and Senate Conference Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Presidential Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Types of Appropriations Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Regular Appropriations Bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Distribution of Funding Among Regular Appropriations Bills . . . . . . 13
Continuing Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Supplementals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Spending Ceilings for Appropriations Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Allocations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Senate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Emergency-Designated Discretionary Spending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Relationship Between Authorization and
Appropriation Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Rescissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
For Additional Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Congressional Hearings, Reports, and Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Selected Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
List of Tables
Table 1. Number of Regular Appropriations Bills Packaged in Omnibus
(or Minibus) Measure and in Full-Year Continuing Resolution,
FY1977-FY2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Table 2. Distribution of FY2004 Enacted Discretionary Spending by
Appropriations Subcommittee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Table 3. Number of Regular Appropriations Bills Enacted in Continuing
Resolutions (CRs), FY1977-FY2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Table 4. Senate Appropriations Committee’s 302(a) Allocations for FY2004,
as Adjusteda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Table 5. Senate Appropriations Committee’s 302(b) Allocations for FY2004 . 19


The Congressional Appropriations Process:
An Introduction
Introduction
Congress annually considers 13 or more appropriations measures, which provide
funding for numerous activities, for example, national defense, education, homeland
security, and crime. These measures also fund general government operations such
as the administration of federal agencies. Congress has developed certain rules and
practices for the consideration of appropriations measures, referred to as the
congressional appropriations process. This report discusses the following aspects
of this process:
! Annual appropriations cycle;
! Spending ceilings for appropriations associated with the annual
budget resolution; and
! Prohibitions against certain language in appropriations measures that
violate separation of the authorization and appropriation functions
into separate measures.
When considering appropriations measures, Congress is exercising the power
granted to it under the Constitution, which states, “No money shall be drawn from
the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”1 The executive
branch may not spend more than the amount appropriated,2 and it may use available
funds only for the purposes established by Congress.3
The President has an important role by virtue of his constitutional power to
approve or veto entire measures and his various duties imposed by statute, such as
submitting an annual budget to the Congress.
1 U.S. Constitution , Article I, Section 9.
2 The Antideficiency Act (31 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1)). This prohibition was derived from a
statute enacted in 1870 (16 Stat. 251). U.S. Government Accountability Office (formerly
named the General Accounting Office), Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, 2nd
edition, vol. 2, GAO/OGC-91-5 (Washington: GPO, July 1991), pp. 6-10 through 6-12.
3 31 U.S.C. 1301(a). This requirement was originally enacted in 1809 (2 Stat. 535). U.S.
Government Accountability Office, Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, 2nd edition,
vol. 1, GAO/OGC-91-5 (Washington: GPO, July 1991), pp. 4-2.

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Annual Appropriations Cycle
President Submits Budget
The President initiates the appropriations process by submitting his annual
budget for the upcoming fiscal year to Congress.4 The President is required to submit
his annual budget on or before the first Monday in February.5 Congress has provided
extensions of the deadline both statutorily and, sometimes, informally.6
The President recommends spending levels for the various programs and
agencies of the federal government in the form of budget authority (or BA) since
Congress provides budget authority instead of cash to agencies. Budget authority
represents the legal authority for federal agencies to make obligations requiring either
immediate or future expenditures (or outlays). These obligations (for example,
entering into a contract to construct a ship or purchase supplies) result in outlays,
which are payments from the Treasury, usually in the form of checks, electronic
funds transfers, or cash disbursements.
For example, an appropriations act provided $3 billion in new budget authority
for FY2002 to the Defense Department to construct four ships. That is, the act gave
the Department legal authority to sign contracts to build the ships. The department
could not commit the government to pay more than $3 billion. The outlays occur
when the contractor cashes the government check for building the ships.
Generally, appropriations are a type of budget authority. Such an appropriation
not only provides the authority to make obligations, but it also gives the agency
authority to make the subsequent payments (outlays). Appropriations measures
provide new budget authority (as opposed to previously enacted budget authority).
Typically, appropriations must be obligated in the fiscal year for which they are
provided. In the above example, the Defense Department would be required to sign
the construction contracts during FY2002.
Not all new budget authority provided for a fiscal year is expended that year.
A total of $3.0 billion in outlays is spent over four fiscal years. For example,
although Congress provided $3 billion in budget authority for FY2002 to construct
four ships, the outlays may occur over several years, until the project is completed:
! FY2002, $0.1 billion;
! FY2003, $0.4 billion;
! FY2004, $1.0 billion; and
! FY2005, $1.5 billion.
4 Congress generally provides spending for fiscal years, in contrast to calendar years.
Federal government fiscal years begin on October 1 and end the following September 30.
FY2005 began on October 1, 2004.
5 31 U.S.C. 1105(a).
6 For information on budget submissions in presidential transition years, see CRS Report
RS20752, Submission of the President’s Budget in Transition Years, by Robert Keith.

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As Congress considers appropriations measures providing new budget authority
for a particular fiscal year, discussions on the resulting outlays only involve
estimates. Data on the actual outlays for a fiscal year are not available until the fiscal
year has ended.
When the President submits his budget to Congress, the agencies provide
detailed justification materials to the House and Senate appropriations
subcommittees, which have jurisdiction over funding for the particular agencies.

Congress Adopts Budget Resolution
The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, as amended,
(the Congressional Budget Act)7 requires Congress to adopt an annual budget
resolution.8 Usually, the budget resolution is Congress’s response to the President’s
budget. The budget resolution must cover at least five fiscal years: the upcoming
fiscal year plus the four subsequent fiscal years.
The budget resolution sets total new budget authority and outlay levels for each
fiscal year covered by the resolution. It also distributes federal spending among 20
functional categories, such as national defense, agriculture, and transportation, and
sets similar levels for each function. The resolution also includes revenue floors for
each fiscal year.
Total new budget authority and outlays are distributed among both the House
and Senate committees with jurisdiction over spending, thereby setting spending
ceilings for each committee (see “Allocations” section below).9
The budget resolution is never sent to the President, nor does it become law. It
does not provide budget authority or raise or lower revenues, but is instead a guide
for Congress to use as it considers various budget bills, including appropriations and
tax measures.
The Congressional Budget Act provides an April 15 deadline for final
congressional adoption of the budget resolution. However, Congress frequently does
not meet this deadline.
7 2 U.S.C. 601-656 (2000); P.L. 93-344 (88 Stat. 297); amended by the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, P.L. 99-177 (99 Stat. 1037, 1038); further amended
by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987, P.L.
100-119 (101 Stat. 754); further amended by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, P.L. 101-
508 (104 Stat. 1388-573 to 1388-630); further amended by the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993, P.L. 103-66 (107 Stat. 312); further amended by the Budget
Enforcement Act of 1997, P.L. 105-33 (111 Stat. 251); and further amended by the Adoption
and Safe Families Act of 1997, P.L. 105-89 (111 Stat. 2125).
8 Budget resolutions are under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Budget Committees.
9 The committee ceilings are usually provided in the joint explanatory statement that
accompanies the conference report to the budget resolution.

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During the 29 fiscal years that Congress has considered budget resolutions
(FY1976-FY2004), Congress has eventually adopted a budget resolution in every
year except two — FY1999 and FY2003.10 There is no penalty if the budget
resolution is not completed or is tardy, but there may be difficulties. For example,
certain enforceable spending ceilings associated with the budget resolution are not
established until the budget resolution is completed. In such instances, each chamber
may adopt its own deeming resolution to address these difficulties (see “Allocations”
section below).
The Congressional Budget Act generally prohibits House or Senate floor
consideration of revenue or spending measures for a fiscal year until Congress adopts
the budget resolution.11 However, even if the budget resolution is not in place, the
House may begin considering the regular appropriations bills without violating the
act after May 15.12 No such provision exists in the Senate; however, the Senate may
waive the rule by a majority vote. In both chambers, this rule is not self-enforcing.
A Representative or Senator must raise a point of order that a measure violates the
rule.
Timetable for Consideration of Appropriations Measures
Traditionally, the House of Representatives has initiated consideration of
appropriations measures. Although recently, some of the regular appropriations bills
have been reported in the Senate first.
The House Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over appropriations
measures and reports the 13 regular appropriations bills separately to the full House.
The committee begins reporting the bills in May or June, completing all or almost all
of them by the annual August recess. Generally, the full House begins consideration
of the regular appropriations bills in May or June as well, passing most by the recess.
For seven of the past 10 years (FY1995-FY2004), the House passed all 13 regular
appropriations bills.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over appropriations
measures and, generally, begins reporting the regular appropriations bills to the full
Senate in May or June. Measures are generally reported before the August recess or
in September. The Senate begins passing the bills in June or July and continues in
the fall. For six of the past 10 years, the Senate did not pass all 13 regular
appropriations bills. One to four bills were not completed for each of those years,
except one year. For FY2003, the Senate did not pass 10 bills.13
10 As of Dec. 6, 2004, Congress had not completed the FY2005 budget resolution.
11 For details, see 2 U.S.C. 634 (2000).
12 Of the three types of appropriations measures, regular appropriations bills have
traditionally provided agencies most of their budget authority (see “Types of Appropriations
Measures” section below).
13 The regular bills that the House or Senate did not pass were generally funded in omnibus
appropriations measures (see “Regular Appropriations Bills” section below).

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During the fall, the Appropriations Committees are usually heavily involved in
conferences to resolve differences between the two chambers. Relatively little or no
time is left before the fiscal year begins to resolve what may be wide disparities
between the House and Senate, to say nothing of those between Congress and the
President. Congress is usually faced with the need to enact one or more temporary
continuing resolutions pending the final disposition of the regular appropriations
bills.14
Work of the Appropriations Committees
After the President submits his budget, the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees hold full committee and subcommittee hearings on the segments of the
budget under their jurisdiction. The 13 appropriations subcommittees in each house
hold more detailed hearings on the agencies’ justifications, primarily obtaining
testimony from agency officials.
Each appropriations subcommittee has jurisdiction over one regular
appropriations bill. Each House appropriations subcommittee is paired with a Senate
appropriations subcommittee, both having jurisdiction over the same agencies and
programs. For example, the House and Senate agriculture appropriations
subcommittees have jurisdiction over the agriculture regular appropriations bill,
which funds most of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug
Administration (Department of Health and Human Services), and other entities.
After the hearings have been completed and the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees have received their committee spending ceilings from
the budget resolution, the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees begin to
mark up15 the regular bills under their jurisdiction and report them to their respective
full committees. Each appropriations committee considers each of their
subcommittee’s recommendations separately. The committees may adopt
amendments to a subcommittee bill and then report the bill as amended to their
respective floors for action.
Recently, the Senate Appropriations Committee has generally reported either
original Senate regular appropriations bills or substitute amendments replacing the
texts of the House-passed bills.16
14 For a description of continuing resolutions, see “Continuing Resolutions” section below.
15 The chair usually proposes a draft bill (the chair’s mark). The chair and other
subcommittee members discuss amendments to the draft and may agree to include some
(referred to as marking up the bill). Regular appropriations bills are not introduced prior to
full committee markup. The bill is introduced when the House Appropriations Committee
reports the bill; a bill number is assigned at that time. The House rules allow the House
Appropriations Committee to originate a bill. In contrast, most House committees do not
have such authority.
16 Traditionally, the Senate Appropriations Committee had generally waited until it received
a House-passed regular appropriations bill before it drafted its version. The Senate
appropriations subcommittee reported the House-passed bill to the full committee with
(continued...)

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House and Senate Floor Action
After the House or Senate Appropriations Committee reports an appropriations
bill to the House or Senate, respectively, the bill is brought to the floor. At this point,
Representatives or Senators are generally provided an opportunity to propose floor
amendments to the bill.
House. Prior to floor consideration of a regular appropriations bill, the House
generally considers a special rule reported by the House Rules Committee setting
parameters for floor consideration of the bill.17 If the House adopts the special rule,
it usually considers the appropriations bill immediately.
The House considers the bill in the Committee of the Whole House on the State
of the Union (or Committee of the Whole) of which all Representatives are
members.18 A special rule on an appropriations bill usually provides for one hour of
general debate on the bill. The debate includes opening statements by the chair and
ranking minority member19 of the appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over
the regular bill, as well as other interested Representatives.
After the Committee of the Whole debates the bill, it considers amendments.20
Amendments must meet requirements of the
! House standing rules and precedents, for example, amendments must
be germane to the bill;
! congressional budget process (see “Spending Ceilings for
Appropriations Measures” section below);
16 (...continued)
amendments distributed throughout the bill. The full committee considered subcommittee
recommendations and made any changes it considered appropriate. The full committee then
reported the bill with recommended amendments to the Senate for floor consideration. The
number of amendments in each bill would range from a few to over 100.
17 Because the regular appropriations bills must be completed in a timely fashion, House
Rule XIII, clause 5, provides that these appropriations bills are privileged. This allows the
House Appropriations Committee to bring appropriations bills directly to the floor in
contrast to asking the Rules Committee to report a special rule. The latter method is used
for most major measures.
In recent years, the House Appropriations Committee has usually used the special rule
procedure, however. These special rules typically include waivers of certain parliamentary
rules regarding the consideration of appropriations bills and certain provisions within them.
Special rules may also be used for other purposes, such as restricting floor amendments.
18 House Rule XVIII, clause 3, requires that appropriations measures be considered in the
Committee of the Whole before the House votes on passage of the measures (see CRS
Report 95-563, The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction, by Elizabeth
Rybicki and Stanley Bach).
19 A ranking minority member of a committee or subcommittee is the head of the minority
party members of the particular committee or subcommittee.
20 They generally consider amendments by going through the bill in order. The presiding
officer asks if there are any amendments to the paragraph (or title) under consideration.

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! authorization-appropriation process, which enforces the relationship
between authorization and appropriations measures (see
“Relationship Between the Authorization and Appropriations
Measures” section below); and
! special rule providing for consideration of the particular bill.
If an amendment violates any of these requirements, any Representative may raise
a point of order to that effect. If the presiding officer rules the amendment out of
order, it cannot be considered on the House floor. The special rule may waive any
of these requirements, thereby allowing the House to consider the amendment.
During consideration of individual regular appropriations bills, the House
sometimes sets additional parameters, either by adopting a special rule or by
unanimous consent. The House agrees to the parameters only if no Representative
objects. For example, the House sometimes agrees to limit debate on individual
amendments by unanimous consent.
After the Committee of the Whole completes consideration of the measure, it
reports the bill with any adopted amendments to the full House. The House then
votes on the adopted amendments and passage. After House passage, the bill is sent
to the Senate.
Senate. The full Senate considers the bill as reported by its Appropriations
Committee. The Senate does not utilize the device of a special rule to set parameters
for consideration of bills. Before taking up the bill, however, or during its
consideration, the Senate sometimes sets parameters by unanimous consent.
When the bill is brought up on the floor, the chair and ranking minority member
of the appropriations subcommittee make opening statements on the contents of the
bill as reported.
Committee and floor amendments to the reported bills must meet requirements
under the Senate standing rules and precedents, congressional budget process,
authorization-appropriation process, as well as requirements agreed to by unanimous
consent.21 The specifics of the Senate and House requirements differ. As in the
House, the Senate may sometimes waive some of these rules.22
When the Senate Appropriations Committee reports a Senate bill and after the
full Senate has completed action on it, the Senate waits for the House to send its bill
to the Senate and amends the House-passed bill with generally a substitute
amendment that contains the text of the Senate bill as amended on the Senate floor.
21 The Senate, in contrast to the House, does not consider floor amendments in the order of
the bill. Senators may propose amendments to any portion of the bill at any time unless the
Senate agrees to set limits.
22 It does so either by unanimous consent or, in some cases, by motion.

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House and Senate Conference Action
Generally, members of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees
having jurisdiction over a particular regular appropriations bill, and the chair and
ranking minority members of the full committees meet to negotiate over differences
between the House- and Senate-passed bills.23
Under House and Senate rules, the negotiators (or conferees or managers) are
generally required to remain within the scope of the differences between the positions
of the two chambers.24 Their agreement must be within the range established by the
House- and Senate-passed versions. For example, if the House-passed bill
appropriates $3 million for a program and a separate Senate amendment provides $5
million, the conferees must reach an agreement that is within the $3-$5 million range.
However, these rules are not always followed.25
Recently, the Senate has been passing single substitute amendments to each
House bill. In such instances, the conferees must reach agreement on all points of
difference between the House and Senate versions before reporting the conference
report in agreement to both houses. When this occurs, the conferees propose a new
conference substitute for the bill as a whole. The conferees attach a joint explanatory
statement (or managers’ statement) explaining the new substitute.
Usually, the House considers conference reports on appropriations measures
first because it traditionally considers the measures first. The first house to consider
a conference report has the option of voting to recommit the report to the conference
for further consideration, rejecting the conference report, or adopting it. After the
first house adopts the conference report, the conference is automatically disbanded;
therefore, the second house has two options — adopt or reject the conference report.
Conference reports cannot be amended in either the House or Senate.
If the conference report is rejected, or is recommitted by the first house, the
conferees negotiate further over the matters in dispute between the two houses.26 The
23 If the Senate (or House) does not pass a bill, informal negotiations typically take place on
the basis of the reported version of that chamber. For example, the House passed the
FY1999 Interior bill, but the Senate did not. Negotiations then ensued over the House-
passed version and the Senate reported-version. Frequently, the compromise is included in
a conference report on an omnibus appropriations measure (see “Regular Appropriations
Bill” section below). The final version of the FY1999 Interior bill was incorporated in the
conference report to the FY1999 omnibus appropriations bill (P.L. 105-277), which
included eight regular appropriations bills.
24 House Rule XXII, clause 9, and Senate Rule XXVIII, paragraphs 2 and 3.
25 Generally, before the House considers a conference report on an appropriations measure,
it adopts a special rule waiving all points of order against the conference report and its
consideration, including points of order that the conference report goes beyond the scope
of the differences.
26 Technically, if either house rejects the conference report, the two houses normally agree
(continued...)

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measure cannot be sent to the President until both houses have agreed to the entire
text of the bill.
Presidential Action
After Congress sends the bill to the President, he has 10 days to sign or veto the
measure. If he takes no action, the bill automatically becomes law at the end of the
10-day period. Conversely, if he takes no action when Congress has adjourned, he
may pocket veto the bill.
If the President vetoes the bill, he sends it back to Congress. Congress may
override the veto by a 2/3 vote in both houses. If Congress successfully overrides the
veto, the bill becomes law. If Congress is unsuccessful, the bill dies.
Types of Appropriations Measures
Regular Appropriations Bills
Annually, Congress considers 13 regular appropriations bills. Their complete
names and the familiar forms of those names are as follows:
! Agriculture, rural development, Food and Drug Administration, and
related agencies (Agriculture);
! Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and
related agencies (Commerce-Justice-State);
! Department of Defense (Defense);
! District of Columbia (DC);
! Energy and water development (energy and water);
! Foreign operations, export financing, and related programs (foreign
operations or foreign assistance);
! Department of Homeland Security (Homeland Security);
! Department of the Interior and related agencies (Interior);
! Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education,
and related agencies (Labor-HHS-Education);
! Legislative branch (leg. branch);
! Military construction (mil. con.);
! Transportation, Treasury, independent agencies, and general
government (Transportation and Treasury); and
! Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban
Development, and independent agencies (VA-HUD).
Generally, Congress provides appropriations in lump-sum amounts by grouping
related activities together (generally referred to as accounts) and providing budget
authority for each account it chooses to fund. For example, the FY1997 energy and
26 (...continued)
to further conference, usually appointing the same conferees.

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water act provided an appropriation of $1.2 billion for the “Construction, General”
account of the Army Corps of Engineers. Some of the activities funded in this
account were construction projects regarding flood control and shore protection.
Regular appropriations measures may also include provisions setting aside funds
within an account for a more specific purpose (some refer to this as an earmark).27
For example, within the FY1997 appropriation for the Corps’ “Construction,
General” account, Congress earmarked $3 million for Red River Emergency Bank
Protection in Arkansas.28
The appropriations committees include most of these earmarks in committee
reports and the joint explanatory statements that accompany conference reports.
Although earmarks in committee reports and joint explanatory statements do not
have the force of law, agencies generally follow these guidelines set by the
appropriators since the agencies require annual appropriations.
Appropriations measures may also provide transfer authority.29 Transfers shift
budget authority from one account or fund to another. For example, if the Corps of
Engineers moved budget authority from the “Construction, General” account to the
“Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies” account, that would be a transfer.
Agencies are prohibited from making such transfers without specific statutory
authority.
In contrast, agencies may generally shift budget authority from one activity to
another within an account without such statutory authority; this activity is referred
to as reprogramming.30 The appropriations subcommittees have established
notification and other oversight procedures for the various agencies to follow
regarding reprogramming actions. Generally, these procedures differ with each
subcommittee.
Congress has traditionally considered and enacted each regular appropriations
bill separately, but Congress has recently utilized two other practices as well. First,
for 12 of the past 28 years (FY1977-FY2004), Congress funded at least one regular
appropriations bill through an entire fiscal year in a continuing resolution(s), as
opposed to a regular appropriations bill (for more information on full-year continuing
resolutions, see “Continuing Resolutions” section below). Second, during 16 years,
Congress generally began consideration of 13 separate bills, but ultimately packaged
27 There is no definition of earmark accepted by all practitioners and observers of the
congressional budget process.
28 For more information, see CRS Report 98-518, Earmarks and Limitations in
Appropriations Bills
, by Sandy Streeter.
29 Authorization measures may also provide transfer authority. For information on
authorization measures, see “Relationship Between the Authorization and Appropriations
Measures” section below.
30 Agencies may not shift budget authority that has been earmarked within an account in an
appropriations act.

CRS-11
two or more regular appropriations bills together in one measure, or, in the case of
FY2001, into two measures.31
From FY1978 through FY1988, Congress combined outstanding regular
appropriations bills and funded the measures through the entire fiscal year in
continuing resolutions (see Table 1). From FY1996 through FY2004, Congress
packaged two or more bills together in an omnibus (or minibus)32 appropriations
measure. During conference on a single regular appropriations bill, the conferees
typically included in the conference report final agreements on other outstanding
regular appropriations bills, thereby creating an omnibus or minibus appropriations
measure.
Packaging, as Table 1 shows, was used for nine consecutive fiscal years
beginning in FY1980. The first two of those years (FY1980-FY1981) occurred while
President Jimmy Carter was in the White House, and the remaining seven were
during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Since that time, it has been used seven times
— five during President William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency (FY1996-FY1997
and FY1999-FY2001) and two while President George W. Bush has been in the
White House (FY2003-FY2004).
Packaging regular appropriations bills can be an efficient means of resolving
outstanding differences within Congress and between Congress and the President.
The negotiators can make more convenient trade-offs between issues among several
bills.
31 The FY2001 Energy and Water bill was attached to the FY2001 VA-HUD bill and the
FY2001 Legislative Branch and Treasury bills were attached to the FY2001 Labor-HHS-
Education bill.
32 There is no agreed upon definition of minibus or omnibus appropriations measures, but
a minibus appropriations measure generally refers to a measure including a few regular
appropriations bills and an omnibus appropriations measure refers to a measure containing
several regular bills.

CRS-12
Table 1. Number of Regular Appropriations Bills Packaged in
Omnibus (or Minibus) Measure and in Full-Year Continuing
Resolution, FY1977-FY2004
Regular Appropriations Bills Packaged in:
Fiscal
Presidential
Omnibus or
Continuing Resolution
Year
Administration
Minibus Measure
1977
Gerald Ford
0
0
1978
Jimmy Carter
0
0
1979
0
0
1980
0
2
1981
0
5
1982
Ronald Reagan
0
3
1983
0
6
1984
0
3
1985
0
8
1986
0
7
1987
0
13
1988
0
13
1989
0
0
1990
George H.W. Bush
0
0
1991
0
0
1992
0
0
1993
0
0
1994
William Clinton
0
0
1995
0
0
1996
5
0
1997
6
0
1998
0
0
1999
8
0
2000
5
0
2001
2,3a
0
2002
George W. Bush
0
0
2003
11
0
2004
7
0
Sources: U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Appropriations, Budget Estimates,
Etc.
, committee prints, 94th Cong., 2nd sess.-103rd Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 1976-1994);
and U.S. Congress, House, Calendars of the U.S. House of Representatives and History of Legislation,
94th-108th Congresses
(Washington: GPO, 1976-2004).
a. The FY2001 Energy and Water Development bill was attached to the FY2001 VA-HUD. The
FY2001 Legislative Branch and Treasury bills were attached to the FY2001 Labor-HHS-
Education bill.

CRS-13
Distribution of Funding Among Regular Appropriations Bills.
Congress divides budget authority and the resulting outlays into three categories:
discretionary spending, mandatory spending, and net interest.33 Appropriations
measures include discretionary and mandatory spending. Discretionary spending is
controlled by annual appropriations acts, which are under the jurisdiction of the
House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Mandatory spending is controlled by
legislative acts under the jurisdiction of the authorizing committees (principally the
House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees).
Discretionary spending provides funds for a wide variety of activities, such as
those described in the “Introduction,” while mandatory spending predominantly
provides funds for entitlement programs.34 Of total actual outlays for FY2003, only
38% was discretionary spending; the remaining 62% was mandatory spending and
net interest.
All new budget authority in discretionary spending is provided in annual
appropriations measures. Some new budget authority in mandatory spending,
predominantly appropriated entitlements, is also provided in appropriations
measures.
Appropriated entitlements are funded through a two-step process. First,
authorizing legislation is enacted to set program parameters (through eligibility
requirements and benefit levels, for example); then the Appropriations Committees
must provide the budget authority needed to meet the commitment. The
Appropriations Committees have little control over the amount of budget authority
provided, since the amount needed is the result of previously enacted commitments
in authorization law.
Instead of directly controlling outlays, Congress controls discretionary spending
by setting levels of new budget authority for specific activities, programs, and
agencies in annual appropriations measures. Congress could, for example, provide
$2.5 billion in new budget authority to build the four ships in the example mentioned
earlier, instead of $3 billion.
Congress also controls mandatory spending by controlling budget authority. It
does not, however, generally control this form of budget authority by setting specific
spending levels. It controls mandatory spending by establishing parameters for
33 “Net interest comprises the government’s interest payments on debt held by the public
offset by interest income that the government receives on loans and cash balances and by
earnings of the National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust.” U.S. Congressional Budget
Office, Glossary of Budgetary and Economic Terms, available at [http://www.cbo.gov],
visited Dec. 3, 2004.
34 Entitlements are statutory requirements that government payments be made to any
individual or unit of government that meets eligibility criteria established in the law.
Entitlements are a binding obligation on the government and eligible recipients have legal
recourse if the obligation is not met. Examples of entitlements include Social Security
benefits, Medicare benefits, federal retirement benefits, and unemployment compensation.

CRS-14
government commitments in permanent law, such as Social Security benefit levels
and eligibility requirements.
Table 2 provides the distribution of enacted FY2004 discretionary spending by
appropriations subcommittee, as of September 7, 2004. Three appropriations
subcommittees (Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, and VA-HUD) had jurisdiction
over most of the new discretionary budget authority (76%); one of three, the Defense
subcommittee, had jurisdiction over half of the discretionary spending. For FY2004,
the Defense subcommittee had 51% of all the discretionary new budget authority; the
Labor-HHS-Education bill, 15%; and the VA-HUD bill, 10%. Ten subcommittees
had jurisdiction over the remaining 24% of new discretionary budget authority.
Table 2. Distribution of FY2004 Enacted Discretionary Spending
by Appropriations Subcommittee
(new budget authority in billions of dollars)
Percentage of
Subcommittee
Amount
Total
Agriculture
17.0
1.9
Commerce-Justice-State
38.2
4.2
Defense
461.0
51.0
District of Columbia
0.5
0.1
Energy and Water Development
27.3
3.0
Foreign Operations
38.7
4.3
Homeland Security
31.5
3.5
Interior
20.0
2.2
Labor-HHS-Education
139.0
15.4
Legislative Branch
3.5
0.4
Military Construction
9.8
1.1
Transportation
28.1
3.1
VA-HUD
90.8
10.0
(full committee)
-1.8
Totala
903.7
100.2
Source: U.S. Congressional Budget Office, CBO’s Current Status of Discretionary Appropriations:
FY2004 Senate Current Status of Discretionary Appropriations
, Sept. 7, 2004, [http://www.cbo.gov]
visited Dec. 2, 2004.
a. Sum and percentage may not equal total due to rounding.
Continuing Resolutions
Regular appropriations bills expire at the end of the fiscal year. If action on one
or more regular appropriations measures has not been completed by the deadline, the
agencies funded by these bills must cease nonessential activities due to lack of budget
authority. Traditionally, continuing appropriations have been used to maintain
temporary funding to agencies and programs until the regular bills are enacted. Such
appropriations continuing funding are usually provided in a joint resolution, hence
the term continuing resolution (or CR).

CRS-15
In November and again in December 1995, FY1996 continuing resolutions
expired and some regular appropriations bills had not been enacted. As a result,
nonessential activities that would have been funded in those regular bills stopped and
federal workers hired to perform those services did not report for duty.
In 24 of the past 28 years (FY1977-FY2004), Congress and the President have
not completed action on a majority of the separate regular bills by the start of the
fiscal year. In eight years, they did not finish any of the bills by the deadline. They
completed action on all 13 separate bills on schedule only three times.35
On or before the deadline, Congress and the President generally complete action
on an initial continuing resolution that temporarily funds the outstanding regular
appropriations bills. In contrast to funding practices in regular bills (i.e., providing
appropriations for each account), temporary continuing resolutions generally provide
funding with a rate and/or formula. Recently, the continuing resolutions have
generally provided a rate at the levels provided in the previous fiscal year. The initial
CR is typically an interim (or partial) continuing resolution, which provides
temporary funding until a specific date or until the enactment of the applicable
regular appropriations acts, if earlier. Once the initial CR becomes law, additional
interim continuing resolutions are frequently utilized to sequentially extend the
expiration date. These subsequent continuing resolutions sometimes change the
funding methods.
In addition to interim continuing resolutions, Congress also sometimes enacts
full-year continuing resolutions. These measures provide full-year funding in the
continuing resolution for the outstanding regular bills, instead of eventually enacting
regular bills. In 12 of the past 28 years, Congress has enacted full-year continuing
resolutions (see Table 3). The funding method for later full-year continuing
resolutions was generally similar to the regular bills; formulas and rates were not
generally used.
During the FY1996 budget confrontation between the 104th Congress and the
Clinton Administration, Congress used a another type of continuing resolution.
Traditionally, a single continuing resolution extends funding for all activities in the
outstanding regular appropriations bills. However, in 1996, Congress provided
targeted appropriations which separated activities from the outstanding regular bills
and distributed them among three continuing resolutions. Congress distributed
funding for activities in four of the six outstanding regular bills among the three
continuing resolutions. Funding for most of the activities in the fifth regular bill
(Foreign Operations) were provided in one of these continuing resolutions and
funding for the most of the activities in the sixth bill (District of Columbia) in
another.
From FY1978 through FY2004, Congress enacted on average five continuing
resolutions per year.
35 In a fourth instance (FY1997), Congress and the President completed action on all 13
regular bills on time because they packaged six bills together.

CRS-16
Table 3. Number of Regular Appropriations Bills Enacted in
Continuing Resolutions (CRs), FY1977-FY2004
Fiscal
Presidential
Enacted in Continuing
Year
Administration
Resolution
1977
Gerald Ford
0
1978
Jimmy Carter
1
1979
1
1980
3
1981
5a
1982
Ronald Reagan
4
1983
7
1984
3
1985
8
1986
7
1987
13
1988
13
1989
0
1990
George Bush
0
1991
0
1992
1
1993
0
1994
William Clinton
0
1995
0
1996
0b
1997
0
1998
0
1999
0
2000
0
2001
0
2002
George W. Bush
0
2003
0
2004
0
Sources: U.S. Congress, House, Calendars of the U.S. House of Representatives and History of
Legislation
, 94th-107th Congresses (Washington: GPO, 1976-2002); and U.S. Congress, Senate
Committee on Appropriations, Appropriations, Budget Estimates, Etc., committee prints, 94th Cong.,
2nd sess.-103rd Cong., 2nd sess., (Washington: GPO, 1976-1985).
a. Congress provided full-year funding for five regular bills in a supplemental appropriations and
rescissions bill. The supplemental included a simple extension of a CR to the end of the fiscal
year.
b. An FY1996 continuing resolution (P.L. 104-99) provided full-year funding for the FY1996 foreign
operations regular bill; however, the continuing resolution provided that the foreign operations
measure be enacted separately (P.L. 104-107). It is excluded here.

CRS-17
Supplementals
During the fiscal year, Congress frequently considers one or more supplemental
appropriations measures that provide additional funds for specified activities.
Supplementals may provide funding for unforeseen needs (such as domestic funds
to recover from a hurricane, earthquake or flood; or defense funds for a war) or
increase or provide funding for other activities. Sometimes Congress includes
supplemental appropriations in regular bills and continuing resolutions.
Supplemental appropriations are provided by account and may include earmarks.
During a calendar year, Congress typically considers, at least:
! 13 regular appropriations bills for the fiscal year that begins on
October 1;
! several continuing resolutions for the same fiscal year; and
! one or more supplementals for the previous fiscal year.
Spending Ceilings for Appropriations Measures
Congress established the congressional budget process through which it
annually sets spending ceilings associated with the budget resolution and enforces
those ceilings with parliamentary rules, or points of order, during congressional
consideration of appropriations bills.36
Allocations
As mentioned previously, the budget resolution distributes the total new budget
authority and outlays among the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over
spending, including the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Through this
allocation process, the budget resolution sets total spending ceilings for each House
and Senate committee (referred to as the 302(a) allocations).37 Table 4 provides
302(a) allocations to the Senate Appropriations Committee for FY2004.
36 The congressional budget process was established by the Congressional Budget Act. 2
U.S.C. 601-656 (2000); P.L. 93-344 (88 Stat. 297); amended by the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, P.L. 99-177 (99 Stat. 1037, 1038); further amended
by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987, P.L.
100-119 (101 Stat. 754); further amended by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, P.L. 101-
508 (104 Stat. 1388-573 to 1388-630); further amended by the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993, P.L. 103-66 (107 Stat. 312); further amended by the Budget
Enforcement Act of 1997, P.L. 105-33 (111 Stat. 251); and further amended by the Adoption
and Safe Families Act of 1997, P.L. 105-89 (111 Stat. 2125).
37 This refers to section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act. Typically, these are
provided in the joint explanatory statement that accompany the conference report to the
budget resolution.

CRS-18
Table 4. Senate Appropriations Committee’s
302(a) Allocations for FY2004, as Adjusteda
(in billions of dollars)
Spending Category
Budget Authority
Outlays
Discretionary
General Purpose
783.214
822.895
Highways
31.555
Mass Transit
1.461
6.634
(Subtotal)
(784.675)
(861.084)
Mandatory
426.949
410.619
Total
1,211.624
1,271.703
Source: U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Allocation to Subcommittees of Budget
Totals from the Concurrent Resolution for Fiscal Year 2004
, 108th Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO,
2003), p. 2.
a. Congress has required the House and Senate Budget Committees to make adjustments to
the 302(a) allocations under certain circumstances and exclude funds for certain
activities from enforcement of the 302(a) and 302(b) allocations. The activities
affected have varied through the years. The FY2004 budget resolution, for example,
required an increase in the 302(a) allocations by the amount of an FY2003
supplemental appropriations act and exempted funds designated as an emergency from
enforcement of the 302(a) and 302(b) allocations, among other provisions.
After the Appropriations Committees receive their 302(a) allocations, they
divide their allocations among their 13 subcommittees. This subdivision is referred
to as the 302(b) allocations.38 Table 5 provides the Senate Appropriations
Committee’s 302(b) allocations of discretionary, mandatory, and total spending for
FY2004. Making 302(b) allocations is within the jurisdiction of the House and
Senate Appropriations Committees, and they typically make revisions to reflect
action on the appropriations bills.
The annual budget resolution provides 302(a) allocations to the House and
Senate Appropriations Committees for a single fiscal year: the year of the budget
resolution. If the budget resolution is significantly delayed (or is never completed),
there is no 302(a) allocations or subsequent 302(b) allocations to enforce until the
budget resolution is completed. In such instances, the House and Senate have often
adopted separate deeming resolutions, providing, at least, temporary 302(a)
allocations, thereby establishing enforceable spending ceilings.39
38 This refers to section 302(b) of the Congressional Budget Act.
39 For more information, see CRS Report RL31443, The “Deeming Resolution:” A Budget
Enforcement Tool
, by Robert Keith.

CRS-19
Table 5. Senate Appropriations Committee’s 302(b) Allocations for FY2004
(in billions of dollars)
Subcommittee
General Purpose
Transportation
Mandatory
Total
Agriculture
New Budget Authority
17.005
55.536
72.541
Outlays
17.891
39.472
57.363
Commerce, Justice, State
New Budget Authority
37.014
.642
37.656
Outlays
40.107
.654
40.761
Defense
New Budget Authority
368.662
.528
369.190
Outlays
389.387
.528
389.915
District of Columbia
New Budget Authority
.495
.495
Outlays
.497
.497
Energy and Water Development
New Budget Authority
27.313
27.313
Outlays
27.359
27.359
Foreign Operations
New Budget Authority
18.093
.044
18.137
Outlays
20.253
.044
20.297
Homeland Security
New Budget Authority
28.521
.831
29.352
Outlays
30.248
.847
31.095
Interior
New Budget Authority
19.627
.064
19.691
Outlays
19.395
.070
19.465

CRS-20
Subcommittee
General Purpose
Transportation
Mandatory
Total
Labor-HHS-Education
New Budget Authority
137.601
318.766
456.367
Outlays
134.932
318.694
453.626
Legislative Branch
New Budget Authority
3.612
.109
3.721
Outlays
3.680
.109
3.789
Military Construction
New Budget Authority
9.196
9.196
Outlays
10.297
10.297
Transportation and Treasury
New Budget Authority
26.041
17.518
14.664
Outlays
33.395
17.516
19.905
Highway
Outlays
31.555
31.555
Mass Transit
New Budget Authority
1.461
1.461
Outlays
6.634
6.634
VA-HUD
New Budget Authority
90.034
32.911
122.945
Outlays
95.454
32.685
128.139
Total
New Budget Authority
783.214
1.461
426.949
1,211.624
Outlays
822.895
38.189
410.619
1,271.703
Source: U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Allocation to Subcommittees of Budget Totals from the Concurrent Resolution
for Fiscal Year 2004
, 108th Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 2003), p. 3.

CRS-21
Enforcement
Certain spending ceilings associated with the budget resolution are enforced
through points of order raised on the House and Senate floor when the appropriations
measures are brought up for consideration. Points of order are not self-enforcing.
A Representative or Senator must raise a point of order that a measure, amendment,
or conference report violates a specific rule. Generally, if a Member raises a
Congressional Budget Act point of order and the presiding officer rules that the
measure, amendment, or conference report violates the parliamentary rule, it may not
be considered on the floor.
House. Two House points of order enforcing spending ceilings that affect
appropriations measures are the 302(f) and 311(a).40 These points of order apply to
all appropriations measures reported by the committee as well as amendments and
conference reports to the measures.
The 302(f) point of order prohibits floor consideration of appropriations that
exceed the committee or subcommittee allocations of new budget authority (the
302(a) or 302(b) allocations, respectively). In effect, this point of order applies to
total discretionary spending (and any mandatory spending changes initiated on the
appropriations measures).41 For example, if Table 5 had been the House
Appropriations Committee’s 302(b) allocations, the reported FY2004 Agriculture
bill could not have exceeded the Agriculture subcommittee’s total discretionary
spending allocation for FY2004 — $17.005 billion.42
The 311(a) point of order prohibits floor consideration of appropriations that
would exceed the total new budget authority or outlay ceilings in the budget
40 These refer to sections 302(f) and 311(a), respectively, of the Congressional Budget Act.
41 It does not effect increased mandatory spending that the appropriators are required to
provide. For example, if the House Appropriations Committee was required to increase new
budget authority for unemployment compensation due to a recession, such budget authority
would not be subject to the point of order.
42 Although the 302(f) point of order in the House enforces new budget authority ceilings,
under House rules certain offset amendments must remain within the total new budget
authority and outlay levels provided in the bill. Due to the 302(f) point of order, Members
frequently must decrease budget authority in a bill for certain activities in order to finance
increases in funding for other activities in order to stay within the 302(a) or 302(b)
allocations (the decreases are referred to as offsets.) An amendment providing both the
increases and decreases is referred to as an offset amendment. Frequently, the increases and
offsets Members prefer are not located in the same place in the bill, and the affected
segments would normally be considered at different times on the House floor.
Offset amendments that amend the text of the bill in more than one place must remain
within the total new budget authority and outlay levels provided in the bill (House Rule
XXI, clause 2(f)). An offset amendment added at the end of a bill that indirectly effects
earlier provisions in the bill would not fall under the procedure provided in Rule XXI,
clause 2(f). However it would still be subject to requirements in section 302. That is, it may
not cause the bill to exceed new budget authority allocations made pursuant to 302(a) or (b).
(For more information, see CRS Report RL31055, House Offset Amendments to
Appropriations Bills: Procedural Considerations
, by Sandy Streeter.)

CRS-22
resolution. As various spending bills for a fiscal year are enacted, the amount of total
new budget authority enacted and the resulting outlays accumulate and the budget
resolution ceilings are eventually reached. An appropriations bill that would go over
either of the ceilings is subject to the 311(a) point of order. If all the spending bills
stay within their committee spending ceilings, a bill will not exceed the total ceilings
established in the budget resolution. However, in the past, some spending bills have
exceeded their committee ceilings, thereby making bills subject to the 311(a) point
of order. This point of order typically affects the last funding measures considered
for a fiscal year (such as the supplementals).43
The House may waive or suspend either of these points of order by adopting, by
majority vote, a special rule waiving the particular point of order prior to floor
consideration of the appropriations bill.
Senate. Two Senate points of order enforcing spending ceilings that affect
appropriations measures are the 302(f) and 311(a).44 The Senate versions of these
rules vary from the House versions. These points of order apply to all appropriations
measures, both those reported by the committee and amended on the floor. They also
apply to amendments, motions, and conferences reports to these measures.
In the Senate, the 302(f) point of order prohibits floor consideration of
appropriations that exceed the subcommittee allocations in total new budget authority
and total outlays (see Table 5). In contrast to the House, it does not enforce the
302(a) allocations. As in the House, this point of order, in effect, applies to total
discretionary spending (and any mandatory spending changes initiated on the
appropriations measures). The 311(a) point of order in the Senate is the same as in
the House; however, it does not include the Fazio Exception.
Recently, the Senate has generally supplemented these permanent Congressional
Budget Act points of order with temporary provisions that established total
discretionary spending limits and prohibited floor consideration of appropriations
that exceeded the limits. No discretionary spending limits are in effect now.45
Senators may make motions to waive any of these points of order at the time the
issue is raised. Currently, a vote of three-fifths of all Senators (usually 60 Senators)
43 In the House, the Fazio Exception exempts certain appropriations from the 311(a) point
of order. If the total for appropriations bills remains within the Appropriations Committee’s
total allocation, the appropriations are excepted from the 311(a) point of order (see §311(c)
of the Congressional Budget Act, as amended).
44 These refer to sections 302(f) and 311(a), respectively, of the Congressional Budget Act.
45 The Senate included a provision in the FY2004 budget resolution, for example, that
established enforceable total discretionary spending limits for FY2003, FY2004, and
FY2005. These limits went into effect in April 2003. In Aug. 2004, this section was
repealed by a provision in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005. (See U.S.
Congress, Conference Committees, 2003, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal
Year 2004
, conference report to accompany H.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept. 108-71, 108th Cong.,
1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 2003), sec. 504; and Department of Defense Appropriations
Act, 2005, P.L. 108-287, sec. 14007 (118 Stat. 1014).)

CRS-23
is required in the Senate to approve a waiver motion for any of these points of order.
These super-majority vote requirements expire on September 30, 2008.
Emergency-Designated Discretionary Spending. Since 1990, both the
House and Senate have generally exempted discretionary spending provided in
appropriations measures, amendments, and conference reports that are designated as
emergency spending from the points of order enforcing spending ceilings discussed
above.
Emergency-designations were originally designed as a safety valve so that
discretionary spending for emergencies, such as disaster assistance, could be
expeditiously enacted.
Congress typically includes its emergency-designate language after the
appropriation to be protected. In the Senate, such designations for non-defense
discretionary spending are subject to a point of order.46 In order to waive this point
of order, a three-fifths vote is required, thereby requiring super-majority support. In
the House, emergency-designate language in amendments is subject to House Rule
XXI, clause 2(c), which prohibits legislation (see “Relationship Between
Authorization and Appropriation Measures” section below).47
Relationship Between Authorization and
Appropriation Measures
Congress has established an authorization-appropriation process that provides
for two separate types of measures — authorization measures and appropriation
measures. These measures perform different functions and are to be considered in
sequence. First, the authorization measure is considered and then the appropriation
measure.
Authorization acts establish, continue, or modify agencies or programs. For
example, an authorization act may change the structure or establish or modify
programs within the Commerce Department. The authorization act also authorizes
appropriations for specific agencies and programs, frequently setting spending
ceilings for them. Authorization acts may provide permanent, annual, or multi-year
authorizations. Annual and multi-year authorization acts require re-authorizations
when they expire. Congress is not required to provide appropriations for an
authorized program.
46 U.S. Congress, Conference Committees, 2004, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for
Fiscal Year 2005
, conference report to accompany S.Con Res. 95, 108th Cong., 1st sess.,
H.Rept. 108-498 (Washington: GPO, 2004), sec. 402; and Department of Defense
Appropriations Act, 2005, P.L. 108-287, sec. 14007 (118 Stat. 1014).)
47 For more detailed information on rules regarding emergency designations, see CRS Report
RS21035, Emergency Spending: Statutory and Congressional Rules, by James V. Saturno.

CRS-24
Authorization measures are under the jurisdiction of authorizing committees
such as the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Education and the
Workforce Committees, or the Senate Judiciary and Energy and Natural Resources
Committees. Most congressional committees are authorizing committees. Major
non-authorization committees include the House and Senate appropriations and
budget committees.48
Appropriations measures provide new budget authority for the program, activity,
or agency previously authorized.
The authorization-appropriations process enforces separation of these functions
into separate measures with points of order prohibiting certain provisions in
appropriations measures.49 The House and Senate prohibit, in varying degrees,
language in appropriations bills providing unauthorized appropriations or legislation
on an appropriations bill
(or riders).
Unauthorized appropriations are new budget authority in an appropriations
measure for agencies or programs whose authorization has expired or was never
authorized, or whose budget authority exceeds the ceiling authorized. Riders refer
to language in appropriations measures that change existing law, such as establishing
new law, or amending or repealing current law.
House rules prohibit unauthorized appropriations and riders in regular
appropriations bills and supplementals, which provide funds for more than one
purpose or agency (referred to in the House as general appropriations bills).
However, House rules do not prohibit such language in continuing resolutions. The
House prohibition applies to bills reported by the House Appropriations Committee,
amendments, and conference reports. The House may adopt a special rule waiving
this rule prior to floor consideration of the appropriations bill or conference report.50
Unauthorized earmarks are allowed in House Appropriations Committee reports and
joint explanatory statements because the rule applies only to the text of the bills,
amendments, and conference reports.
In the Senate, unauthorized appropriations and riders are treated differently.
The Senate rule regarding such language applies to regular bills, supplementals which
provide funds for more than one purpose or agency, and continuing resolutions
(referred to in the Senate as general appropriations bills).
48 The House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have
jurisdiction over some authorization measures, all revenue measures, and some mandatory
spending measures.
49 House Rule XXI, clause 2; House Rule XXII, clause 5; and Senate Rule XVI. House rules
also prohibit appropriations in authorization measures, amendments, or conference reports
(Rule XXI, clause 4 and House Rule XXII, clause 5).
50 The special rule may provide a waiver for specified provisions or all provisions in the bill
that are subject to the point of order. The special rule may also provide a waiver for specific
amendments. Generally, special rules waive points of order against all provisions in all
conference reports on general appropriations measures.

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This Senate rule applies only to amendments to general appropriations bills,
such as, those
! introduced on the Senate floor;
! reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee to the House-
passed measure; or
! proposed as a substitute for the House-passed text.
This rule does not apply to provisions in Senate bills or conference reports. For
example, this rule did not apply to provisions in S. 1005, the FY1998 Defense
appropriations bill, as reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee. But it did
apply to provisions in H.R. 2107, the FY1998 Interior bill, as reported by the Senate
Appropriations Committee, since this version of the bill consisted of amendments to
the House-passed bill.51
The Senate rule is less restrictive than the House on unauthorized
appropriations. For example, the Senate Appropriations Committee may report
committee amendments containing unauthorized appropriations. An appropriation
is considered authorized if the Senate previously passes the authorization bill during
the same session of Congress. In contrast, in the House, the authorization bill must
be approved by both houses and signed by the President.
Although the Senate rule generally prohibits unauthorized appropriations in non-
committee amendments, Senators rarely raise this point of order because of
exceptions to the rule. Unauthorized earmarks are allowed in Senate Appropriations
Committee reports and joint explanatory statements, as in the House.
The Senate rule prohibits riders in both Senate Appropriations Committee
amendments and non-committee amendments.52 It also prohibits non-germane
amendments.
The division between an authorization and an appropriation is limited to
congressional consideration of appropriations measures. If unauthorized
appropriations or riders remain in a measure as enacted, either because no one raised
a point of order or the House or Senate waived the rules, the provision will have the
force of law. Again, unauthorized appropriations are generally available for
obligation or expenditure.
51 The Senate rule reflects Senate practices at the time the rule was established. The Senate
Appropriations Committee traditionally reported numerous amendments to the House-
passed appropriations bill, instead of reporting an original Senate bill. Therefore, the rule’s
prohibition only applies to amendments, both committee and floor amendments. Recently,
the Senate Appropriations Committee been reporting regularly most or all of the bills as
original Senate bills.
52 Under Senate precedents, an amendment containing a rider may be considered if it is
germane to language in the House-passed appropriations bill. That is, if the House opens
the door by passing a rider in an appropriations bill, the Senate has an “inherent right” to
amend it. However, if the Senate considers an original Senate bill, rather than the House-
passed bill with amendments, there is no House language to which a rider could be germane.
Therefore, the defense of germaneness is not available.

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Rescissions
Rescissions cancel previously enacted budget authority. To continue the earlier
example, after Congress enacts the $3 billion to construct the four ships, it may enact
legislation canceling the budget authority prior to its obligation. Rescissions are an
expression of changed or differing priorities. They may be used to offset increases
in budget authority for other activities.
The President may recommend rescissions to Congress, but it is up to Congress
to act on them. Under Title X of the Congressional Budget Act,53 Congress must
pass a bill approving the President’s rescissions within 45 days of continuous session
of congress
or the budget authority must be spent.
In practice, this usually means that funds proposed for rescission not approved
by Congress must be made available for obligation after about 60 calendar days,
although the period can extend to 75 days or longer.54
In response to the President’s recommendation, Congress may decide not to
approve the amount specified by the President, approve the total amount, or approve
a different amount. In 1998, for instance, President Clinton proposed rescinding $2.1
million appropriated for maritime guaranteed loan subsidies. Congress did not
concur. Also in 1998, the President proposed rescinding $737,000 of the
appropriated funds for the Bureau of Indian Affair’s construction account. Congress,
in response, exceeded the President’s request and rescinded $837,000 of these funds
in the FY1998 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-174).
Congress may also initiate rescissions. An example is the rescission of $11.2
million for FY1998 for the Health professions education fund included in the same
supplemental. Rescissions can be included in either separate rescission measures or
any of the three types of appropriations measures.
53 Title X is referred to as the Impoundment Control Act.
54 CRS Issue Brief IB89148, Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals, by Virginia
A. McMurtry.

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For Additional Reading
CRS Products
CRS Report RS20441. Advance Appropriations, Forward Funding, and Advance
Funding, by Sandy Streeter.
CRS Report 98-648. Appropriations Bills: What are “General Provisions?,” by
Sandy Streeter.
CRS Report 98-558. Appropriations Bills: What is Report Language?, by Sandy
Streeter.
CRS Report 97-947. The Appropriations Process and the Congressional Budget Act,
by James V. Saturno.
CRS Report RL30297. Congressional Budget Resolutions: Selected Statistics and
Information Guide, by Bill Heniff, Jr.
CRS Report RS20095. The Congressional Budget Process: A Brief Overview, by
James V. Saturno.
CRS Report RL30343. Continuing Appropriations Acts: Brief Overview of Recent
Practices, by Sandy Streeter.
CRS Report RL31443. The “Deeming Resolution:” A Budget Enforcement Tool, by
Robert Keith.
CRS Report 98-518. Earmarks and Limitations in Appropriations Bills, by Sandy
Streeter.
CRS Report RS21035. Emergency Spending: Statutory and Congressional Rules,
by James V. Saturno.
CRS Report RL30619. Examples of Legislative Provisions in Omnibus
Appropriations Acts, by Robert Keith.
CRS Report RS20348. Federal Funding Gaps: A Brief Overview, by Robert Keith.
CRS Report 98-512. Formulation and Content of the Budget Resolution, by Bill
Heniff, Jr.
CRS Report RL31055. House Offset Amendments to Appropriations Bills:
Procedural Considerations, by Sandy Streeter.
CRS Report 98-721. Introduction to the Federal Budget Process, by Robert Keith
and Allen Schick.

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CRS Report 95-563. The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction,
by Elizabeth Rybicki and Stanley Bach.
CRS Report 96-548. The Legislative Process on the Senate Floor: An Introduction,
by Thomas P. Carr and Stanley Bach.
CRS Report 97-865. Points of Order in the Congressional Budget Process, by
James V. Saturno.
CRS Report RS20752. Submission of the President’s Budget in Transition Years,
by Robert Keith.
Congressional Hearings, Reports, and Documents
U.S. Congress. House. Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House
of Representatives, 106th Congress (or House Manual). H.Doc. 105-358, 105th
Congress, 2nd session. Washington, 1999.
——. House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the
House. 104th Congress, 2nd session. Washington, 1996.
——. Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives. 97th Congress, 2nd session.
Washington, 1982.
——. Committee on the Budget. Compilation of Laws and Rules Relating to the
Congressional Budget Process (as amended through March 23, 2000). 106th
Congress, 2nd session. Washington, 2000.
U.S. Congress. Senate. Riddick’s Senate Procedure. 101st Congress, 2nd session.
Washington, 1992.
Selected Websites
Cannon’s Precedents (House)
[http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house/precedents/cannons/cannons.html]
Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives, 106th
Congress (or House Manual)
[http://www.access.gpo.gov/hrm/index.html]
CRS Guides to Congressional Processes (Federal Budget Process)
[http://www.crs.gov/products/guides/guidehome.shtml]
Deschler’s Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives
[http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house/precedents/deschler.html]
Hinds’ Precedents (House)
[http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house/precedents/hinds/srchhinds.html]

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The House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House
[http://www.gpoaccess.gov/hpractice/browse.html]
Riddick’s Senate Procedure
[http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/riddick/index.html]
Rules of the House
[http://www.house.gov/rules/house_rules_text.htm]
Standing Rules of the Senate
[http://rules.senate.gov/senaterules/menu.htm]