# Federal Budget Process ![[econ-budget-calendar-wheel.svg]] *The statutory budget calendar versus the reality of continuing resolutions and shutdown cliffs.* The annual cycle by which the United States decides what to spend — on paper a sequence laid out by the Budget and [[Impoundment Control Act]] of 1974, in practice a process that increasingly **breaks down into stopgaps and brinkmanship**. The whole thing turns on the constitutional [[Power of the Purse]]: Congress, not the president, appropriates. ## The textbook sequence 1. **[[President's Budget Request]]** — the [[Office of Management and Budget]] submits the president's proposal (statutorily due the first Monday in February; often late). A request, not law. 2. **[[Budget Resolution]]** — the House and Senate Budget Committees write a concurrent resolution setting top-line spending and revenue targets. Non-binding, not signed by the president — but it unlocks [[Reconciliation]]. 3. **[[Appropriations Process]]** — the Appropriations Committees write **twelve** bills that actually fund discretionary government. Due by the Oct 1 start of the fiscal year. 4. **Mandatory spending** — [[Social Security]], [[Medicare]], [[Medicaid]] and [[Net Interest on the Debt]] flows automatically under permanent law and are **not** part of the annual appropriations; see [[Discretionary vs Mandatory Spending]]. ## Where it breaks The twelve bills almost never pass on time. The fallbacks: - **[[Continuing Resolution]]** — a stopgap freezing spending at prior levels. - **[[Government Shutdown]]** — what happens when even a CR fails (the FY2026 shutdown ran 43 days, the longest ever). - **Omnibus / minibus** — bundling the bills into one giant package at the deadline. - **[[Reconciliation]]** — the filibuster-proof fast track for taxes and mandatory spending (the vehicle for the [[Big Beautiful Bill]]). ## The RWKB angle The process is the battlefield for the [[Power of the Purse]]. Two recurring fights run through this folder: **Congress vs. president** over whether the executive can refuse to spend appropriated money ([[Rescission and Impoundment]], the [[Russell Vought]] doctrine), and **majority vs. minority** over using [[Reconciliation]] to bypass the filibuster. The breakdown into perpetual CRs and shutdowns is itself the story — governing by crisis. ## Related - [[President's Budget Request]] · [[Budget Resolution]] · [[Appropriations Process]] - [[Continuing Resolution]] · [[Government Shutdown]] · [[Reconciliation]] · [[Debt Ceiling]] - [[Rescission and Impoundment]] · [[Impoundment Control Act]] · [[Budget Hub]] - [[How Federal Money Moves]] — what happens *after* enactment: warrant, apportionment, obligation, outlay