Appropriations Glossary
302 (a) allocation: Section of the annual Budget Resolution which caps total discretionary spending.
302 (b) allocation:Section of the annual Budget Resolution by which the Appropriations Chairmen divide the total discretionary spending into individual caps on each of the 12 subcommittees.
APT: All-Purpose Table, a table that accompanies appropriations bills which shows the level recommended in the bill for various programs. The table includes the level enacted by the bill, in comparison to the previous year’s appropriation, the President’s budget, and the other body’s appropriation.
Block Grants: funds given to States in a lump sum to run programs on a particular topic.
CBO: Congressional Budget Office, which evaluates the cost of proposed legislation.
Competitive Funding: funds allocated after a competition among eligible grantees.
Continuing Resolution (CR): continues funding for a program if the fiscal year ends without a new appropriation in place. A CR provides temporary funding at current levels or less.
Contract Authority: permits a federal agency to enter into a contract prior to actually having the funds in hand.
Discretionary Spending: spending set by annual appropriation levels made by decision of Congress. This spending is optional, and in contrast to entitlement programs for which funding is mandatory.
Earmark: funds dedicated by law for a specific grantee or geographic area.
Emergency Designation: a provision making funds not subject to the budget caps.
Entitlement Spending: Funding levels are automatically set by the number of eligible recipients. Each person eligible for benefits by law receives them unless Congress changes the eligibility criteria.
Fiscal Year: The federal fiscal year runs from October 1st each year and ends on September 30th.
Formula Funding: funds allocated by agencies based on a formula created by Congress. IE. Education programs will often allocate funds to school districts based on the number of low-income children served.
Hold Harmless: a provision in the law setting a minimum funding level to protect grantees from getting cut when program changes are implemented.
Mandatory Spending: funds not controlled by annual decision of Congress. These funds are automatically obligated by virtue of previously-enacted laws.
Mark-Up: themeeting of a Committee held to review the text of a bill before voting it out of Committee. In Authorizing Committees, bills are referred to the Committee and then marked up. In the Appropriations Committee, no bill text exists before the mark-up.
Motion To Waive The Budget Act: A motion offered on the floor which, if adopted, temporarily sets aside a specific provision of the budget act. With a waiver, the amendment may be considered even though it violates the congressional budget act. A minimum of 60 votes are required for adoption. (Senate Only)
Obligation:When the government expresses its intent to spend money by signing a contract or awarding a grant, the funds are obligated. All funds not obligated in the time they are available, return to the Treasury.
Off-Budget: programs not counted toward budget limits due to provisions in current law. For example, Social Security trust funds and the postal service are off-budget programs.
Offset: A cut that corresponds to an increase, in order to make the increase fit under the cap.
Outlays: payments made out of the federal treasury to fulfill obligations incurred earlier.
President’s Budget: The President’s annual proposal for all federal spending that comes out every February. This document begins the annual budget process.
Report language: Language included in a Report by the Appropriations Committee describing the appropriations bill and giving guidance to the Agency on how to spend the funds.
Rider: an amendment attached to a bill, usually unrelated to the subject of the underlying bill. Appropriations bills are targets of legislative riders because they are “must-pass” legislation.
Scoring: a cost analysis conducted by the Congressional Budget Office. “The provision scores” means that the legislation in question would cost a designated amount of money.
Set-aside:funds reserved in a larger appropriation or program for a specific population that doesn’t fit the general rules. IE. Many programs that put funds out through the States contain a 1% or 3% set aside for tribal governments.
SmallState Minimum:a provision in the law setting a minimum funding level that small states or populations will get. These provisions are based on the theory that it takes a minimum of funding to run a program, no matter how many people are in the program.
Statement of Administration Policy (SAP): A document prepared by OMB, expressing the Administration’s reactions to spending bills. It is the main means by which veto threats are expressed.
Supplemental: An appropriations bill that provides funds in addition to the regular appropriations level. Supplementals often arise when an emergency, e.g. disaster relief, requires immediate funding.
Trigger:a provision in the law that initiates a change in policy when the appropriation exceeds a designated level. IE. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LiHEAP) has a trigger at $2 billion where the formula will shift more funding toward warm weather states.