{ "id": "R44582", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R44582", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Overview of Funding Mechanisms in the Federal Budget Process, and Selected Examples", "retrieved": "2021-03-06T04:03:38.269008", "id": "R44582_8_2021-02-05", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2021-02-05_R44582_2fe871729cd4d768479a0531a531f7967a4c1e17.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44582/8", "sha1": "2fe871729cd4d768479a0531a531f7967a4c1e17" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2021-02-05_R44582_2fe871729cd4d768479a0531a531f7967a4c1e17.html" } ], "date": "2021-02-05", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R44582", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 454880, "date": "2016-08-04", "retrieved": "2016-11-28T21:49:03.831251", "title": "Overview of Funding Mechanisms in the Federal Budget Process, and Selected Examples", "summary": "Every year, Congress considers numerous pieces of legislation that would create or modify federal government programs and activities. The variety of approaches used across the federal budget to fund these programs and activities involve different timelines for budgetary decisionmaking, and different processes (and committees) within Congress to make those decisions. How a particular funding mechanism is structured requires tradeoffs between the frequency of congressional review and the predictability of funding for the program. The purpose of this report is to explain these approaches, illustrating them with examples of how they have been applied in practice.\nWhen attempting to understand the mechanism through which a program is funded, one of its most basic elements is the type of law that controls that funding. Such laws\u2014and the provisions within them\u2014can be distinguished based on whether their primary purpose is to create or modify federal government programs or activities (\u201cauthorizations\u201d), or whether their purpose is to fund those activities (\u201cappropriations\u201d). \nDiscretionary spending programs generally are established through authorization laws, but the annual appropriations process determines the extent to which those programs will actually be funded, if at all. Examples of discretionary spending discussed in this report include the Office of Apprenticeship (Department of Labor; DOL) and the Violence Against Women Family Research and Evaluation program (Department of Justice).\nMandatory spending is controlled by authorization laws. For this type of spending, the program usually is created and funded in the same law, often on a multiyear or permanent basis. Examples of this type of funding mechanism that are discussed in this report include the State Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program (Department of Health and Human Services; HHS), Technical Assistance for Tribal Child Welfare Programs (HHS), and Social Security Disability Insurance (Social Security Administration; SSA). Alternatively, a mandatory spending program might be created in an authorization law but funded annually through an appropriations act; this is often referred to as \u201cappropriated mandatory\u201d spending. Examples of appropriated mandatory spending include the Social Services Block Grant (HHS) and Supplemental Security Income (SSA).\nIn some cases, including the federal Health Center Program (HHS) and the Child Care and Development Fund (HHS), federal government programs are funded using a combination of mandatory and discretionary spending.\nBesides the type of law that controls the spending, another important aspect of any funding mechanism is what the source of that funding will be. This is because there is a distinction between the authority to expend funds and the source of the funds themselves. Revenue and other collections made by the federal government are generally deposited in the General Fund (GF) of the Treasury, which is the default source of spending for many different types of federal government activities. Examples of funding mechanisms that utilize the GF include the Office of Apprenticeship (DOL) and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (HHS). Spending also may be funded by dedicated collections that result from the business-like activities that the federal government undertakes. Both the legal authority to make these collections, and the legal authority to expend them, may be provided either through authorization or appropriations acts, and may support either mandatory or discretionary spending. Examples of dedicated collections that are discussed in this report include those associated with the Immigration Examinations Fee Account (Department of Homeland Security), the Manufactured Housing Standard Program (Department of Housing and Urban Development), and the Health Surveillance and Program Support account (HHS). In some cases, including Medicare Part A and B (HHS) and the Prescription Drug User Fee Act activities undertaken by the Food and Drug Administration (HHS), programs are funded using a combination of the GF and dedicated collections.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44582", "sha1": "cf04eceb0b545edf977bce1aa4c5ccaaf2ca0c06", "filename": "files/20160804_R44582_cf04eceb0b545edf977bce1aa4c5ccaaf2ca0c06.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44582", "sha1": "216eeb2b9a71c21144f75359367df33a136ba452", "filename": "files/20160804_R44582_216eeb2b9a71c21144f75359367df33a136ba452.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Agricultural Policy", "Domestic Social Policy", "Health Policy", "Intelligence and National Security", "National Defense" ] }