Allocations and Subdivisions in the Congressional Budget Process (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Nov. 29, 2010 |
| Report Number |
RS20144 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
William Heniff, Jr., Government and Finance Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
-
Premium Revised June 17, 2008 (2 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium Revised Aug. 29, 2003 (2 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium March 5, 2001 (2 pages, $24.95)
add
|
Summary:
The annual budget resolution sets forth total spending and revenue levels for at least five fiscal years. The spending amounts are allocated, or "crosswalked," to the House and Senate committees having jurisdiction over discretionary spending (the Appropriations Committees) and direct spending (the legislative committees). The committee allocations provide Congress with one means of enforcing the spending levels of a budget resolution after it has been adopted.
While the budget resolution allocates spending among the 20 major functional categories of the federal budget for the purpose of providing a broad statement of budget priorities, the functional categories do not correspond to the committee system by which Congress operates. The committee allocations reformulate the functional category amounts in a budget resolution to correspond to committee jurisdictions. By allocating the spending among committees responsible for spending legislation, the committee allocations allow Congress to hold its committees accountable for staying within the spending limits established in the budget resolution.
