Unauthorized Appropriations and Expiring Authorizations.
Abstract
The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to report to the Congress each year on unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations. Authorization laws have two basic purposes. They establish, continue, or modify federal programs, and they are a prerequisite under House and Senate rules (and sometimes under statute) for the Congress to appropriate budget authority for programs. Some authorization laws provide spending directly. In fact, well over half of federal spending now goes to programs for which the authorizing legislation itself creates budget authority. Such spending is referred to as direct, or mandatory, spending. It includes funding for most major entitlement programs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 15, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA347204
Entities
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office