Appropriations Process

The federal budget contains two types of programs: entitlement programs and discretionary programs. Entitlements include programs such as Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ disability pensions.  The amount of funding provided for each is determined by policy and is not capped at a specific dollar amount.

On the other hand, discretionary programs are provided with a specific dollar amount called an annual appropriation.  Discretionary programs include highways and transportation, education, defense, etc., as well as VA research and medical care.  Annually, the appropriations subcommittees have the "discretion" to increase, reduce or maintain funding for programs within their jurisdiction.

The federal budget/appropriations process officially begins with the President’s budget request.  Usually, this is submitted to Congress in early February.  In the budget, the President "requests" or recommends funding levels for all federally funded discretionary programs, including VA research.  When the President and Congress belong to the same party, the President’s request (also known as the administration’s request) has considerable clout.  When they belong to different parties, the President’s budget may be derided as “dead on arrival.” Nonetheless, the President’s budget establishes the administration’s priorities and sets the tone for the deliberations that will follow.

The appropriations subcommittees use the previous year’s funding levels and the President’s request as starting points for developing their own funding levels.  In late spring, each appropriations subcommittee is given an allocation; that is, its share of the total appropriations "pie" as determined in the non-binding budget resolution passed by Congress as a spending blueprint for the entire federal budget.  The subcommittee then divides its allocation among the various programs or agencies in its jurisdiction.

The appropriations approval process generally begins in the House.  After agency and public witness hearings, each subcommittee "marks up" its bill; i.e., sets recommended funding levels for each line item in its jurisdiction. The recommendations are then considered and approved, generally with only slight modifications, by the full Appropriations Committee.  The full House then considers and approves each of the thirteen appropriations bills, usually in June.  Then the same process starts over again in the Senate. After each Senate bill is completed, House and Senate subcommittee members meet in "conference" to resolve differences between House- and Senate-passed versions of the appropriations bills.  The House and then the Senate vote on the "conference report" before it is sent to the President for his signature and enactment.

As many VA personnel know too well, this process can break down when there are significant differences between the President's and Congress's priorities, and the President vetoes, or threatens to veto, appropriations bills.  When this happens, the government can shut down, or Congress can pass "continuing resolutions" to keep federal programs going until appropriations legislation is completed.  In recent years, Congress has side-stepped portions of the appropriations process by rolling unfinished bills into one massive “omnibus appropriations” bill. Generally, this is an expedient measure used to cut short protracted bickering over individual line items.

The Congressional Budget/Appropriations Schedule

Rarely Followed, But Useful for General Planning Purposes