Budget Matters Blog

Entries By Chris Hellman


Where Are We Now – It’s Appropriations Season

    May 15 marks the unofficial start of the annual appropriations process on Capitol Hill, where members of the House and Senate funding committees can begin putting together the 12 annual spending bills that support many domestic federal programs and the Pentagon.But first, let’s take a step back. Actually, ...


Top Five Things To Know About the Pentagon’s Budget Request

Last week the Obama Administration released its long-overdue budget request for fiscal year 2014. As part of the request, the administration is seeking $526.6 billion for the Pentagon. This amount does not including funding for wars or the nuclear weapons activities at the Department of Energy.  Here are five things ...


The President’s Budget: Why it Still Matters

Back in January, however, the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced it would delay the scheduled Feb. 4 release of the president’s fiscal year 2014 budget request until early March or later, and it is now expected to be released the week of April 8 – so late it will set a presidential record.


March Madness: A Tale of Two Budgets

After months of inaction on the federal budget, Congress is now wrapping up work on two – the budget for fiscal year 2013, which began back on Oct. 1, 2012, and the first steps in a budget for fiscal 2014, which will begin on Oct. 1, 2013.


House Bill Funds Government for Remainder of the Year

The legislation introduced yesterday would extend the current spending bill through the end of the fiscal year – in other words, Congress is proposing to go through this entire fiscal year without passing an actual budget. However, this new legislation did include an actual budget for just two areas of government – Defense and Military Construction-Veterans Affair.


Sequestration: And so it Begins

Unable to broker an eleventh-hour deal with congressional Republican leaders, President Obama signed the order activating the automatic across-the-board federal spending cuts known as sequestration.


Fiscal Cliff II: It’s Baaaaaaack

Actually, the fiscal cliff never left. If you thought we solved the fiscal cliff with the deal back in January (or even the more recent debt ceiling deal), you’re mistaken.


The President’s State of the Union Address

  Article II of the U.S. Constitution states that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union."While the date is not specified by the Constitution, traditionally the State of the Union takes place in late January. This year President Obama ...


Beyond the Fiscal Cliff: Why No Budget Request?

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 requires the President to submit his budget request for the upcoming fiscal year no later than the first Monday of February. Recently, however, the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced it will delay the scheduled Feb. 4 release of the ...


The "No Budget, No Pay" Debt Ceiling Deal

On January 23 the Housed passed legislation to deal with the debt ceiling – the legal limit Congress places on its own borrowing. If the federal debt reaches the debt ceiling, the government is unable to borrow additional funds to support continued operations, triggering a government shutdown and default on ...