appropriations bill

Examples of appropriations bill in the following topics:

• The Role of the Federal Budget

  • Appropriations subcommittees then approve individual appropriations bills to allocate funding to various federal programs.
  • If Congress fails to pass an annual budget, a series of appropriations bills must be passed as "stop gap" measures.
  • Congress may also combine all or some appropriations bills into an omnibus reconciliation bill.
  • In addition, the president may request and the Congress may pass supplemental appropriations bills or emergency supplemental appropriations bills.
  • If it cannot pass a Federal Budget, it must pass appropriation bills as a "stop gap. "

• Authorization and Appropriation

  • The separation of authorization and appropriation functions are enforced through House and Senate rules that divide committee jurisdiction between authorization and appropriations bills .
  • For instance, the House and Senate prohibit language in appropriations bills that provides appropriations not authorized by law, also known as unauthorized appropriations.
  • Language in an appropriations bill that provides legislation on the bill is additionally prohibited.
  • Other authorized programs receive no appropriated funds at all.
  • Meanwhile, the aforementioned language prohibitions in appropriations bills sometimes gets passed in the bills either because no one raised a point of order or the House and Senate waived the rules.

• The Budgeting Process

  • Budget committees set spending limits for the House and Senate committees and for Appropriations subcommittees, which then approve individual appropriations bills to allocate funding to various federal programs.
  • Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid expenditures are funded by more permanent Congressional appropriations and so are considered mandatory spending.
  • Some programs, such as Food Stamps, are appropriated entitlements.
  • Much of the costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not been funded through regular appropriations bills, but through emergency supplemental appropriations bills.
  • Some budget experts argue that emergency supplemental appropriations bills do not receive the same level of legislative care as regular appropriations bills.

• The Cost of Maintaining the Government

  • Appropriations Committees, starting with allocations in the budget resolution, put together appropriations bills, which may be considered in the House after May 15.
  • Once appropriations committees pass their bills, the House and Senate consider them.
  • Once a conference bill has passed both chambers of Congress, it is sent to the President, who may sign the bill or veto.
  • If he signs, the bill becomes law.
  • In recent years, Congress has not passed all of the appropriations bills before the start of the fiscal year.

• The Election Year Budget

  • Budget committees set spending limits for the House and Senate committees and for Appropriations subcommittees, which then approve individual appropriations bills to allocate funding to various federal programs.
  • Disagreements between Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republicans led by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich led to the United States federal government shutdown of 1995 and 1996.
  • The failure of Congress and the President to enact the remaining appropriations legislation led to government shutdowns during November 13–19, 1995 and December 15, 1995 through January 6, 1996.
  • The first shutdown caused the furlough of about 800,000 federal employees, while the second affected 284,000 due to additional appropriations bills enacted in the interim.
  • Official White House photo of President Bill Clinton, President of the United States.

• The Conflict-Resolution Function

  • While the Senate cannot originate revenue and appropriation bills, it has the power to amend or reject them.
  • Congress has sought ways to establish appropriate spending levels.
  • Then, a bill may go to what is called a mark-up session where committee members debate the bill's merits.
  • A final vote on the bill follows.
  • For the bill to become law, both houses must agree to identical versions of the bill.

• Incorporation Doctrine

  • The incorporation of the Bill of Rights is the process by which American courts have applied portions of the Bill of Rights to the states.
  • Bill of Rights to the states, by virtue of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.
  • City of Chicago (1897), in which the Supreme Court required just compensation for property appropriated by state or local authorities (so this was an application of the Fifth Amendment in the Bill of Rights).
  • Since that time, the Court has steadily incorporated most of the significant provisions of the Bill of Rights.
  • Indicate how the Bill of Rights was incorporated by the the Federal government in the States

• Optional Collaborative Exercise

  • Count the money (bills and change) in your pocket or purse.
  • Discuss how many intervals you think is appropriate.

• Difficulty in Getting the Timing Right

  • With the complexity of modern economies and the lags inherent in macroeconomic policy instruments, a country must have the capacity to promptly identify any adverse trends in its economy and to apply the appropriate corrective measure.
  • It can take many months before Congress can pass a bill that would address current economic fluctuations.

• Clintonomics

  • Clintonomics refers to the economic policies of United States President Bill Clinton during the 1990s.
  • "Clintonomics" refers to the economic policies of United States President Bill Clinton during the 1990s, as well as the economic policies supported by his staff.
  • According to American political scientist Jack Godwin, Clintonomics was more than a set of economic, fiscal, and monetary policies: it was a governing philosophy with political and economic elements, which routinely appropriated nominally Republican and Democratic ideas.
  • In 1992, Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States, and during his presidency (1993 to 2001), he implemented several economic reforms.
  • Of all the presidents with whom he worked, he praised Bill Clinton above all others, saying that Clinton maintained "a consistent, disciplined focus on long-term economic growth."