This report discusses the federal fiscal year which is the accounting period of the federal government.

In its most elemental form, the federal budget is a comprehensive accounting of the government’s spending, revenues, and borrowing. This fact sheet provides a brief overview of the basic terminology and concepts used in the federal budget process.

Consideration of a concurrent budget resolution is governed by special procedures in the House and Senate. Although the procedures of each chamber differ, they serve generally to expedite consideration of the budget resolution.

The gross federal debt consists of the debt held by the public plus the debt held by government accounts. Almost all of the gross federal debt is subject to a public debt limit, as set forth in statute (31 U.S.C. 3101).This report considers legislation needed to change the public debt limit.

The Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974 (Titles I-IX of P.L. 93-344), as amended, established the concurrent budget resolution as the centerpiece of the congressional budget process. This report discusses the budget resolution, which provides the framework for subsequent legislative action on the annual appropriations bills, revenue measures, debt-limit legislation, reconciliation legislation (if required), and any other budgetary legislation.

Baselines and scorekeeping are an integral part of the federal budget process, providing Congress and the President with a framework for making and enforcing budgetary decisions. A baseline serves as a benchmark for federal budget decisions. While the Office of Management and Budget (0MB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) create different baselines, their baselines project federal spending, revenue, and budget surplus or deficit amounts that would occur if existing budget policies were left unchanged. Scorekeeping is the process by which the budgetary impact of proposed and enacted budget policies is measured; it assists Congress and the President in making and enforcing budgetary decisions

Budget reconciliation is an optional two-step process Congress may use to assure compliance with the direct spending, revenue, and debt-limit levels set forth in budget resolutions.

The annual budget resolution sets forth Congress's budget plan for a period of at least five fiscal years. It includes total levels of spending, revenues, and the debt limit for each of the fiscal years covered.

This report discusses the Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act of 1999, was introduced by Representative Jim Nussle on February 25, 1999, and referred to the Committee on the Budget.

Sequestration--the automatic across-the-board cancellation of budgetary resources for the purpose of enforcing budgetary goals--was first established by the 1985 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act (Title II of P.L. 99-177). Section 254 of this act, as amended, provides a timetable for sequestration actions.

Sequestration is the cancellation of budgetary resources for the purpose of enforcing statutory budget limits and pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirements. This process is triggered automatically when these statutory limits or PAYGO rules have been violated as a result of legislative actions.

Discretionary spending limits are statutory caps on the level of budget authority and outlays determined through the annual appropriations process. They were initially established by the Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) of 1990 (Title XIII of P.L. 101-508) as part of an agreement between Congress and President George Bush to reduce the deficit. Twice since, they were extended to enforce agreements between Congress and President Bill Clinton, most recently to achieve a surplus.

The Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974 (P.L. 93-344), as amended, establishes the congressional budget process, which coordinates the legislative activities on the budget resolution, appropriations bills, reconciliation legislation, revenue measures, and other budgetary legislation. Section 300 of this act provides a timetable (see Table 1) so that Congress may complete its work on the budget by the start of the fiscal year on October 1.

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This report describes the procedures under which committee funding resolutions are considered in the two chambers. A table at the end of the report shows funds approved for the 105th Congress, and the funds requested, recommended, and approved for the 106th Congress for each House committee. The Senate agreed to temporary funding extensions for its committees pending a decision to shift to a fiscal year-based funding process.

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act authorizes the President to declare that an emergency or major disaster exists that overwhelms state and local resources. Legislation before the 106th Congress (H.R. 707 and S. 1691) would, among other matters, amend the Act to: (1) fund hazard mitigation projects designed to reduce future disaster losses; (2) add conditions to assistance; and (3) consolidate provisions governing the distribution of aid to disaster victims. This report compares provisions of the two bills, and will be updated as legislative action occurs.

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed inventory issues as they related to the Department of Defense's (DOD) operations and readiness, focusing on: (1) the status of DOD's secondary inventory; (2) difficulties one military service continues to have in obtaining repair parts to keep its combat aircraft mission capable; (3) the adequacy of DOD's controls over inventory items in transit; (4) implementation of DOD's efforts to have greater visibility over its logistical assets through its Total Asset Visibility Program; and (5) the continuing need to apply best private sector management practices to Defense inventory management."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) efforts to initiate and complete removal proceedings for criminal aliens in state and federal prisons through its Institutional Hearing Program (IHP)."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the year 2000 compliance status of biomedical equipment, focusing on: (1) the status of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Federal Year 2000 Biomedical Equipment Clearinghouse; (2) the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) and the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) positions on GAO's recommendation to obtain and review the test results supporting manufacturers' compliance certifications for critical care/life support medical devices; and (3) information on the biomedical equipment compliance status of health care providers."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed military retirement, focusing on: (1) changes being proposed by the Department of Defense (DOD); (2) areas where GAO believes more information is needed; and (3) the opportunity to take a long-term strategic view of the military compensation system."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the long-standing challenges facing the Department of Veterans Affairs in administering programs that provide financial and other benefits to veterans, their dependents, and survivors, focusing on: (1) recent progress the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) has made; (2) areas in which progress is lacking; and (3) changes in program design that could hold potential for greater gains."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the adjustment of Medicare's payments to managed care plans in the Medicare Choice program, focusing on the: (1) importance of improving the current risk adjustment method; (2) implications of rate-setting changes implemented in 1998; and (3) the advantages and drawbacks of the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) proposed new interim risk adjuster."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the U.S. Capitol Police's administrative operations, focusing on: (1) the U.S. Capitol Police's existing organizational strategies, structures, systems and processes; (2) the evaluation of the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of systems, processes, controls, and information for each administrative operation; and (3) opportunities for improving the operational efficiency and effectiveness of each administrative operation. GAO selected Booz-Allen and Hamilton to conduct the evaluation."