appropriations bill
(noun)
A legislative motion that authorizes the government to spend money.
Examples of appropriations bill in the following topics:
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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. "
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Fiscal Policy -- Budget and Taxes
- Finally, Congress considers individual appropriations bills spelling out exactly how the money in each category will be spent.
- Each appropriations bill ultimately must be signed by the president in order to take effect.
- This budget process often takes an entire session of Congress; the president presents his proposals in early February, and Congress often does not finish its work on appropriations bills until September (and sometimes even later).
- Most debates about the income tax today revolve around three issues: the appropriate overall level of taxation; how graduated, or "progressive" the tax should be; and the extent to which the tax should be used to promote social objectives.
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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.
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Disposable Income
- Discretionary income is disposable income minus all payments that are necessary to meet current bills.
- Discretionary income = Gross income - taxes - all compelled payments (bills)
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Other Measurements of the Money Supply
- M4: M4- + treasury bills (or M3 + commercial paper + T-bills)
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Open Market Operations
- By buying and selling US Treasury bills on the open market, the Federal Reserve hopes to change their yields, which will then affect the interest rates in the broader market.
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Why Governments Intervene In Markets
- Former President signing a welfare reform bill.
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Current Issues in Health Care
- In December of 2009, the Senate passing a bill called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
- The Affordable Care Act is a complex piece of legislation, but a number of bullets from the bill are highly useful to understand:
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Role of Individual in the Community
- There are several perspectives about the most appropriate ways to achieve that balance.
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Role in Matching Savings and Investment Spending
- More disposable income after fixed expenditures (such as mortgage, heating bill, basic goods purchases) have been made increases saving.