The Bush Budget and Budget Process

President Bush's budget proposes a number of budget process changes that he believes will allow budgeting to be accomplished in a more fiscally responsible manner.

President Bush's budget proposes a number of budget process changes that he believes will allow budgeting to be accomplished in a more fiscally responsible manner.

President Bush's budget proposes a number of budget process changes that he believes will allow budgeting to be accomplished in a more fiscally responsible manner.

President Bush's budget proposes a number of budget process changes that he believes will allow budgeting to be accomplished in a more fiscally responsible manner.

Some of the changes proposed by the President come up year after year, without being enacted. It is most difficult to change the budget process, since it often means changing the balances of power over allocating resources. Following are a few of the changes that the President proposes. In future editions of the Watcher, we will cover more:

  1. Change from a concurrent budget resolution to a joint budget resolution.

    CURRENT PROCESS: The President issues his budget, and Congress issues its budget resolution. Neither is binding. The congressional budget resolution is simply a blueprint for spending.

    PROPOSED CHANGE: Congress would present a joint budget resolution to the President for a signature. If s/he signed it, it would be law and govern spending decisions for the year. If s/he refused to sign it, it would revert to a concurrent resolution.

    PURPOSE OF THE CHANGE: To streamline the budget process by getting this major step accomplished early (in the spring). To allow for budget enforcement through the legally binding budget resolution by using across-the-board cuts to keep spending in line with the budget resolution.

    ARGUMENTS AGAINST: Congress won't be able to begin considering spending bills until a resolution is in place and so, rather than speeding up the process, this could delay appropriations by adding another contentious step. It shifts power from Congress to the President. It would allow the Budget Committees and congressional leadership more power than Ways and Means and Appropriations Committees.

  2. Continuation of limits on discretionary and mandatory spending.

    CURRENT PROCESS: The budget enforcement measures in the Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to limit discretionary spending (the discretionary caps) and restrain expansions in mandatory programs and cuts in taxes (pay-as-you-go or PAYGO) ended in 2002. There is no current enforcement process.

    PROPOSED CHANGE: The President proposes that enforceable limits on spending should continue either through the change to a joint budget resolution with the resolution limits enforced through across-the-board-cuts, or by legislatively extending the BBA enforcement, using the discretionary and mandatory spending levels as proposed in the President's 2003 budget.

    PURPOSE OF THE CHANGE: Fiscal responsibility defined as limiting spending and avoiding budget deficits.

    ARGUMENTS AGAINST: Discretionary spending continued to fall under the strict discretionary spending limits under the Balanced Budget Amendment. During the past few years when there has been a budget surplus, the limits were unrealistically low. The limits are often ignored and/or appropriators find ways around them, like using "emergency" spending that is not subject to the caps. Fiscal responsibility ought to be defined as meeting the needs of families and communities and not allowing an "investment" deficit to occur.

  3. Changes in classification of programs from "mandatory" to "discretionary."

    CURRENT PROCESS: Spending that is subject to yearly appropriations decisions is "discretionary" spending and spending that is mandated by law and rises or falls depending on increased or decreased eligibility or cost of living increases is "mandatory." These categories are rarely changed.

    PROPOSED CHANGE: Given the rise in the proportion of spending for mandatory programs (now at 64% of the budget), the President proposes to reclassify three programs from mandatory to discretionary and to review other programs for possible reclassification.

    PURPOSE OF THE CHANGE: To give the President and Congress more control by adding programs to the scrutiny and consideration of the annual appropriations process.

    ARGUMENTS AGAINST: Programs that are legal entitlements should not be subject to the annual appropriations process. Included in the list for consideration are the Black Lung Disability Fund, the Civil Service Retirement Disability Fund, Social Security benefits to Disabled Coal Miners (all entitlement programs) as well as the Vocational Rehabilitation Program, the Child Care Entitlement to the States and the Social Service Block Grant. However, the only three programs the President proposes to actually switch are very limited and constitute only a tiny proportion of the budget.

  4. Change from an annual budget to a two-year (biennial) budget.

    CURRENT PROCESS: The budget is determined annually.

    PROPOSED CHANGE: The budget would be determined every two years, on the even year.

    PURPOSE OF THE CHANGE: To allow more time for oversight on the odd years. To allow time for more oversight of mandatory spending, since so much effort would not need to be devoted to getting appropriations passed every year. To simplify the budget process. To make the appropriations process less political because it occurs only in non-election years.

    ARGUMENTS AGAINST: There could be unforeseen events and/or programs that need less or more money, which could not be anticipated so far ahead of time. It is too hard to foresee the needs in the second year, which would lead to the need for supplemental bills. Biennial budgeting would reinforce the status quo, since it's more likely that if a program will be funded for the same level for two years, in spite of the cost of inflation or other reasons an increase might be needed. Spending decisions are complicated by election year considerations and this biennial proposal would be done in even years. Finally, the yearly appropriations process is, itself, a form of oversight.

The President's proposals can be found in the Analytical Perspectives volume of the budget, starting with page 283.

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