FY2012 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

FY2012 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

FY2012 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO
Availability
Justin Murray
Information Research Specialist
March 22, 2011
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R41707
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress

FY2012 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 proposal is due by the first Monday in February,
but the FY2012 Budget materials were submitted on Monday, February 14, 2012. Since the
federal government was operating under a FY2011 continuing resolution at the time the budget
materials were submitted, full-year FY2011 enacted appropriations data are not available in the
budget documents. Neither the Congressional Research Service (CRS) nor the Library of
Congress (LOC) can provide copies of budget documents.
This report provides brief descriptions of the budget volumes and related documents, together
with Internet addresses, Government Printing Office (GPO) stock numbers, and prices for
obtaining 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 will be updated as events warrant.

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FY2012 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
The President’s Budget Documents, Fiscal Year 2012.................................................................. 1
The Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2012........................................................... 2
The Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2012 (CD-ROM) ........................................ 2
Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012 .............. 2
Appendix, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012.................................... 2
Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012........................ 3
Economic Report of the President, 2011 ...................................................................................... 4
Agency Budget Justifications ...................................................................................................... 4
Additional Comparative Budget Data by Agency and Account ..................................................... 5
Public Budget Database, Fiscal Year 2012 ............................................................................ 5
Congressional Budget Office....................................................................................................... 6
Budget and Economic Outlook: FY2011-FY2021................................................................... 6
Analysis of the President’s Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2012.................................... 6
GPO Ordering Information.......................................................................................................... 6
Depository Libraries ................................................................................................................... 6
Websites on Budget Legislation................................................................................................... 7
Congressional Staff ............................................................................................................... 7
Public Use ............................................................................................................................ 7

Contacts
Author Contact Information ........................................................................................................ 7

Congressional Research Service

FY2012 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability

Introduction
The President’s budget for FY2012 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 not later than the first Monday in February (31 U.S.C. § 1105a).1
Other budget-related documents released this year include the annual Economic Report of the
President, issued in January 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.
Readers should note at the time of release of this report, the federal government is operating
under a FY2011 continuing resolution. OMB submitted documents in the President’s FY2012
Budget therefore do not reflect full-year enacted operations level for FY2011, which began on
October 1, 2010. In more typical fiscal years, the President’s budget provides data on proposals
for the upcoming fiscal year and prior fiscal year enacted appropriations amounts. See the note
below in the section on the FY2012 Budget Appendix volume for more information on how
proposed and prior year enacted budget data are presented.
The President’s Budget Documents, Fiscal Year 2012
Both OMB and the Government Printing 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 http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET,
respectively. 2 Information on purchasing print copies of these documents appears below along
with a brief description of the contents of each document.
OMB provides additional information on agency budgets, states, and key issues in the form of
fact sheets found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget_factsheets_departments, and
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget_factsheets_key. Federal programs that have been
recommended by the Administration for termination or reduction are detailed in the document

1 In comments made to the media in late December 2010, OMB officials cited delays in the confirmation of OMB
Director Jacob Lew and Congress not finishing the FY2011 appropriations funding decisions for pushing back the
release of the President’s FY2012 Budget submission to February 14, 2011. Karen Tumulty. “Obama’s Budget
Proposal Will Be Delayed a Bit,” Washington Post Online, December 29, 2010, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/28/AR2010122803393-pf.html.
2 The Government Printing Office (GPO) is migrating from the GPO Access system http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ system
to the FDSys Digital system http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/. The FDSys website for current and historical Budget materials
can be accessed at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET. The GPO
Access site for current and historical Budget materials can be accessed at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/
index.html.
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entitled Terminations, Reductions, and Savings, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
budget/TRS.
The budget set consists of the following documents and CD-ROM materials.
The Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2012
(GPO stock number 041-001-00682-6, $38, 216 pages)
This document contains information, charts, and graphs pertaining to the President’s new budget
proposals and overviews of government activities by agency and topic (e.g., “Moving from
Rescue to Rebuilding,“ and “Putting the Nation on a Sustainable Fiscal Path”). Summary tables
(pp. 145-179) contain projections of budget baselines, receipts, and outlays; deficits; debt;
discretionary spending; and economic projections from FY2009 to FY2020.
The Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2012 (CD-ROM)
(GPO stock number 041-001-00686-9, $27)
The FY2012 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.
Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government,
Fiscal Year 2012
(GPO stock number 041-001-00685-1, $52, 504 pages)
This volume includes economic, accounting, and crosscutting analyses of government programs
and activities designed to highlight specific subject areas and provide other significant
presentations of budget data to place the budget in perspective. It also includes information on
federal receipts and collections, analyses of federal spending, detailed information on federal
borrowing and debt, baseline or current service estimates, and other technical presentations.
Chapter 18, “Aid to State and Local Governments,” contains a series of tables (pp. 285-340) that
provide selected grant and other federal assistance data by state.
The FY2012 Analytical Perspectives volume also contains supplemental materials including
tables showing the budget by agency and account and by function, sub-function, and program.
This supplemental material is available on a CD-ROM, in the printed document, or on the GPO
website at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET.
Appendix, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012
(GPO stock number 041-001-00683-4, $75.00, 1,368 pages)
Designed primarily for the use of the House and Senate appropriations committees, the FY2012
Appendix contains more detailed financial information on individual programs and appropriations
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accounts than any of the other budget documents submitted by the President. For each agency, it
provides the following:
• the 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.
Typically, these elements are distinguished by varying font and typeface, so that proposed
appropriations and prior year funding can be compared at a glance. However, due to the lack of
enacted full-year FY2011 funding when the FY2012 Budget was submitted in February 2012,
only italicized proposed funding appears in the FY2012 Budget Appendix along with a note on
the FY2011 continuing resolution appropriations legislation. The following example is from the
FY2012 Budget Appendix:
“For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for Food Nutrition and
Consumer Services, $828,000…
Note—A full-year 2011 appropriation for this account was not enacted at the time the budget
was prepared; therefore, this account is operating under a continuing resolution (P.L. 111-242,
as amended). The amounts for 2011 reflect the annualized level provided by the continuing
resolution.” 3
Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government,
Fiscal Year 2012
(GPO stock number 041-001-00684-2, $49, 360 pages)
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. This volume provides some data from 1940
(or earlier) through estimates for FY2016. Historical data are adjusted by OMB to be consistent
with the FY2012 Budget and to provide comparability over time.

3 Department of Agriculture, Office of Under Secretary for Food Nutrition and Consumer Services, from page 59 of the
FY2012 Budget Appendix.
The following FY2011 example of a more typical Budget year presentation is from the FY2011 Budget Appendix;
language printed in roman type is used as a base, [brackets] enclose material proposed for deletion, and italic type
indicates proposed language. This example is provided to show the more typical presentation of annual budget
information and data in previous year versions of the Budget Appendix.
“For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, [$5,285,000], $5,936,000…” See also CRS
Report R41095, FY2011 Budget Documents: Internet and GPO Availability, by Jennifer Teefy for more information.
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Economic Report of the President, 2011
(GPO stock number 040-000-00786-5, $36, 318 pages)
This year’s annual Economic Report of the President, transmitted to Congress in February 2011,
presents the Administration’s report on its economic policies and contains the annual report of the
Council of Economic Advisors. The report is available from the Council of Economic Advisors
website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/2011_erp_full.pdf. It presents
an overview of the nation’s economic progress using text and extensive data appendices.
Appendix B of the Economic Report includes current and historical statistics on major aspects of
economic activity (pp. 179-318). Statistics include national income and expenditures from 1962
to 2010, government finance, population, employment, wages, productivity, prices, debt
measures, corporate finance, and international statistics, in some cases back to 1929.
The report is also available from the GPO website at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/index.html. A
searchable database of the Economic Report of the President for each year from 1996 to the
present is also available at this site. Spreadsheet files from Appendix B of the report can be
accessed at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/tables11.html.
Agency Budget Justifications
Each year in July, OMB issues instructions to all federal executive departments and agencies for
submitting budget data and materials for inclusion in the President’s budget documents. These
instructions are in a document entitled, Circular No. A-11: Preparation, Submission, and
Execution of the Budget. After the President’s budget documents are released in February,
Congress begins to hold hearings on agency budget requests. Agencies must submit their budget
justifications to the appropriations subcommittees holding the hearings. Budget justifications
generally contain more detailed descriptions of an agency’s proposals and programs than is
provided in the President’s budget documents. As mandated by Section 22.6 of the 2006 edition
of Circular A-11 and subsequent editions, beginning with the FY2008 budget cycle, agencies are
required to post their congressional budget justification materials on the Internet within two
weeks of transmittal to Congress.4 Circular A-11 is available on the White House website at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a11_current_year_a11_toc.
Access FY2012 Budget justification documents for each executive agency through the following
links:
Department of Agriculture at http://www.obpa.usda.gov/explan_notes.html.
Department of Commerce at http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY12CBJ.html.
Department of Defense at http://comptroller.defense.gov/Budget2012.html.

4 Circular A-11 is available on the White House website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
circulars_a11_current_year_a11_toc.
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Department of Education at http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget12/justifications/
index.html.
Department of Energy at http://www.energy.gov/about/budget.htm.
Department of Health and Human Services at http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/budget.
Department of Homeland Security at http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/budget.
Department of Housing and Urban Development at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/
program_offices/cfo/reports/2012/main_toc.
Department of the Interior at http://www.doi.gov/budget.
Department of Justice at http://www.justice.gov/jmd/2012justification.
Department of Labor at http://www.dol.gov/dol/budget.
Department of State at http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/statecbj/2012.
Department of Transportation at http://www.dot.gov/budget/2012/budgetestimates.html.
Department of Treasury at http://www.treasury.gov/about/budget-performance/Pages/cj-
index.aspx.
Department of Veterans Affairs at http://www.va.gov/budget/products.asp.
Additional Comparative Budget Data by Agency and
Account
Public Budget Database, Fiscal Year 2012
OMB maintains a publicly accessible database in Excel and comma delimited format called the
Public Budget Database. This resource provides account level detail data for: budget authority for
the years FY1976 to FY2016, and budget outlays and budget receipts for FY1962 to FY2016.
This resource is available on the GPO FY2012 Budget website at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
browse/collectionGPO.action?collectionCode=BUDGET. A user’s guide in PDF format is also
available on this site by clicking on the expandable tab for the document.
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Congressional Budget Office
Budget and Economic Outlook: FY2011-FY2021
(GPO stock number 052-070-07607-1, $29, 188 pages)
CBO’s baseline budget projections span 10 years in its budget reports. The Budget and Economic
Outlook includes separate chapters on the economic outlook, outlays, and receipts. The data and
projections cover FY2011 through FY2021. This document, released in January 2011, also
includes discussions on current economic conditions. The report is available on the CBO website
at http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12039.
CBO provides additional context to its Budget and Economic Outlook through a page on its
website, entitled “Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2011 Through 2021,” at
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12039. This page contains an interactive graph that shows
the budgetary effects of selected policy alternatives on the CBO baseline. CBO also provides
historical and current budget and economic information, including its monthly budget review, at
http://www.cbo.gov/budget/budget.shtml.
Analysis of the President’s Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2012
GPO ordering information is currently not available.
This report provides an analysis of the President’s budgetary proposals and CBO’s updated
baseline budget projections. The FY2011 report is available on the CBO website at
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/112xx/doc11231/index.cfm. A preliminary FY2012 report was issued
by CBO on March 18, 2011. The preliminary report is available on the CBO website at
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12103.
GPO Ordering Information
Printed copies of budget documents are available for purchase from GPO using Discover,
MasterCard, Visa, or American Express cards.
• online at the GPO website at http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/budget.jsp;
• by telephone, (866) 512-1800;
• by fax, (202) 512-2104; or
• by mail (check or money order), addressed to U.S. Government Printing 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 at
a federal government depository library. Addresses of the closest depository libraries can be
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obtained through a local library or from GPO’s Customer Services department, (866) 512-1800.
Internet users may obtain this information from the GPO Access website at
http://catalog.gpo.gov/fdlpdir/FDLPdir.jsp.
Websites on Budget Legislation
Congressional Staff
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has developed (for Members of Congress and their
staffs) two websites covering the budget and appropriations process for congressional offices.
• Appropriations and Budget Analysis. For CRS products on appropriations
status, jurisdictions, processes, current appropriations bills, and other budget-
related resources, Members and congressional staff can access the CRS website
at http://www.crs.gov/Pages/clis.aspx?cliid=73. CRS Appropriations Status Table
products are available at http://www.crs.gov/pages/subissue.aspx?cliid=615&
parentid=73.
• CRS Products on the Federal Budget Process. Explanations of budget
concepts, terminology, the 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 at http://www.crs.gov/analysis/Pages/
CongressionalOperations.aspx (see links under the heading “Budget Process”).
Public Use
Members of the public have access to THOMAS at http://thomas.loc.gov, the legislative website
produced by the Library of Congress, with data from the House and Senate. The site includes a
Status Table of Appropriations with links to bills, committee and conference reports, and votes for
the 12 regular and any supplemental appropriations bills.

Author Contact Information

Justin Murray

Information Research Specialist
jmurray@crs.loc.gov, 7-4092

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