IBEW Local 110 Minneapolis, MN

The Budget Process - It's as Simple as 1-2-3! (Well, maybe not.)

1. The President presents his budget to Congress.
2. The Budget Committee in each House sets spending targets for each Authorizing Committee. Each committee determines it priorities for programs under their jurisdiction within those targets, and reports them to the Budget Committee.
3. The Budget Committee evaluates requests form authorizing committees and the President's budget and presents it's recommendations in a budget resolution.
4. The House and Senate vote on their respective budget resolutions, each of which needs a simple majority to pass.
5. The budget resolution is sent to a Conference Committee, which presents a conference report that integrates both House and Senate versions.
6. The House and Senate each vote on the conference report, no amendments are allowed, and only a simple majority is needed to pass.
7. The budget resolution does not go to the President, it is a Congressional document only.
8. The conference report on the budget is sent back to the authorizing committees, which add detail to their allocations and account for permanent authorizations no included in the budget resolution. At the same time, the tax writing committees in both Houses (Senate Finance and House Ways and Means), receive the budget conference report and write legislation to fund the programs outline in the budget.
9. The work of the authorizing committees and the tax-writing committees is combined in the reconciliation bill. Each House of Congress votes on its respective reconciliation bill, both of which are sent to a Conference Committee to work out the differences between the two bills.
10. The house and senate each vote on the reconciliation conference reports, which is also a Congressional document that is not sent to the President.
11. The Appropriation Committee receives the reconciliation bill, and allocates the approved budgetary amounts to each of the 13 Appropriations Subcommittees.
12. Each Appropriations Subcommittee sets specific funding levels for all programs under their jurisdiction, and presents their appropriations bill to the full committee, which reports each of the 13 appropriations bills to the floor for debate and passage by simple majority.
13. House and Senate meet in conference on each of the 13 appropriations bills, and send each conference report back to both houses for approval by simple majority. Each appropriations bill is sent to the President for signing or veto.