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TO CONGRESS - The Budget Justification
What Happens
 | After final decisions are received from the President and OMB, the
agency goes on to make its case to Congress. The agency has to make the case that
the President wants the agency to make, not necessarily what the agency or its leadership
or rank and file would like. The rules are usually followed and the agency
leadership and management supports the request as decided by the President.
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| The overall Federal budget request is submitted in a set of formal,
widely available documents and a supplemental request for each agency. This agency
request is presented in documents whose format is specified by the appropriations
committees. (See DOCUMENTS for more.)
 | This budget submission is the agency's "annual plan" under
GPRA.
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| Some agencies have one document that is the "annual plan."
Others have separate documents for the performance plan and the budget request.
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Why
| Congress must approve all expenditures of Federal funds. The
Constitution states: No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in
consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipts
and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.
(U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 9.) Congress has implemented this requirement
through statutory requirements and through procedural requirements. (See DOCUMENTS for the relevant statutes.)
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| Congress requires that sufficient information be provided so that it can
intelligently assess the President's request as well as each specific agency plan for
using the funds requested in the President's overall budget.
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| The specific processes used to approve the level of funds for each
agency is not spelled out in the Constitution, but in other laws, precedents, and
practices. Congress has established the appropriations committees to review the
requests for funds and to make recommendations to Congress. The committees do this
as they see fit, efficient, and in keeping with good legal and business practices.
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Agency Actions
| Preparing documents that explain and justify the budget request is an
essential step in the process. The first public statement of the agency's budget
request takes place when the President's budget request is sent to Congress. The
agency's request is a document that supplements and amplifies the President's request,
mostly to explain to members and staff of the appropriations committees the details of the
agency's request.
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| The agency has a central budget staff to assure submission of the
request and to maintain discipline, at least as far as documents submitted are
concerned. All papers pass through their hands on their way to OMB for review before
they are allowed to be sent to Congress. Many people are involved in making sure
that nothing is presented to Congress that was not intended by the President.
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| The request to Congress consists of materials that explain in detail
what will be accomplished with the requested resources. The explanation also
has information on past accomplishments since the Congressional process places an emphasis
on changes from the prior year. For efficiency, Congress focuses on the increases
and decreases from the prior year, and tends to assume that what does not change is
acceptable.
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| At the time of the release of the request to Congress, there is an
associated press conference and a release to the public of summary documents of the
agency's request. This is part of the Administration's attempt to sell its budget
before those opposed to it have a chance to review it.
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| A large effort is required to prepare the documents since they must be
accurate and must be based on decisions made in relation to each program. The
agency and its operating components must be able to explain in detail how the requested
resources will be used, as well as provide additional detailed information if requested by
the Appropriations committees themselves or auditors who may be checking the facts that
support the request.
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Timing
The agency's request to the Appropriations Committee is submitted
concurrently with the overall Federal budget request, usually in the first Monday in
February.
Documents and Links
| The documents related to the request to Congress are public documents,
available to all. Copies can be obtained from the agencies, the Appropriations
Committees, some from the GPO, and some from agency web sites. For links to these
documents, go to Agency Requests and Numbers, where there are
extensive links to specific agency budget materials. The primary documents of the
budget request are:
| (1) the set of documents that make up the overall President's request,
covering the whole of the Federal government (submitted and made available when the
request is sent to Congress, no later than February 7, 2000 for FY 2001), and
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| (2) each agency's public information and supplemental submissions to
Appropriations sub-committees.
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Go to DOCUMENTS for a more detailed
explanation of the documents involved.
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