![handle is hein.crs/crsahej0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS20268
Updated June 12, 2008
Agency Justification of
the President's Budget
Bill Heniff Jr.
Analyst on the Congress and Legislative Process
Government and Finance Division
While the President is required to submit annually a comprehensive federal budget
to Congress, each federal agency bears the primary responsibility for justifying its budget
request to gain approval from Congress. Several key activities are involved. These
include the preparation of supporting materials for the President's budget transmittal,
formal testimony, and the submission of more detailed written justifications to the
appropriations subcommittee of jurisdiction. This fact sheet focuses on the justification
of requests for spending provided through the annual appropriations process (i.e.,
discretionary spending). For more information on the budget process, see the CRS Guides
to Congressional Processes at [http://www.crs.gov/products/guides/guidehome.shtml].
Agency Supporting Material. Each agency is responsible for providing the
supporting materials from which the account and program detail in the Budget Appendix
is prepared. OMB Circular A-11 contains detailed instructions on their preparation to
ensure they adhere to standardized conventions and formats. These materials are prepared
in support of an agency's initial budget submission to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB), and then, if necessary, revised to conform to the decisions made by OMB
and the President.
The major elements of these materials for each account include (1) proposed
appropriations language for the upcoming fiscal year; (2) a program and financing
schedule, which includes the obligations for specific activities and programs and the
sources of budget authority; (3) an object classification schedule, which reflects the nature
of things or services purchased; (4) a personnel summary, if applicable; and (5) a narrative
statement of the program and its performance. The budget schedules state the dollar
amounts of appropriations and other sources of budgetary resources. They show actual
dollar amounts for the previous fiscal year, enacted amounts for the current fiscal year,
and proposed amounts for the upcoming fiscal year, reflecting the President's request.
Agency Budget Justifications. The House and Senate Appropriations
Committees have jurisdiction over the 12 regular appropriations acts and other
appropriations acts. The Appropriations Committees of each house have 12 parallel
subcommittees, each of which is responsible for one of the 12 regular appropriations acts.
Soon after the President's budget has been transmitted to Congress, the appropriations
subcommittees hold hearings on the individual agency budget requests.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/crsahej0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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