Budget disputes over the plan cause delays

Every year, Congress is tasked with creating and passing a federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year. This process is often  and, in the recent past, disagreements over funding have led to federal government shutdowns.

The  following the President’s budget proposal submission, and can last as long as fall or winter of that year. As this year’s budget process reaches its climax, here is what you should know about the budget process, and what Brookings experts believe should be included in the budget this year.

The president’s budget proposal is like a wish list

Federal budget legislation originates in the House of Representatives, not in the White House. Thus, the president’s budget proposal is more akin to a suggestion than a serious framework for legislation. The White House’s budget proposal is a place where the president outlines his wish list for the upcoming fiscal year and, while Congress can consider the recommendations,  in the longer budget process and debate.

A budget resolution is like a New Year’s resolution

After the president submits a budget proposal, the House and Senate work to adopt a congressional budget resolution. Both the House and Senate passed their congressional budget resolutions for fiscal year 2018 last week. Brookings Senior Fellow  budget resolutions to New Year’s resolutions, arguing that they tend to be more aspirational than enforceable—not least because they are not sent to the president to be signed into law. She explains that the House budget adopted at the beginning of October—and now subsequently compromised with the Senate’s version—amounts to a Republican wish list on spending and taxing priorities.

Brookings Fellow  that many Senate rules, procedures, and evolving norms have had the unintended consequences of slowing down and delaying the Senate as it tries to complete a budget resolution. Specifically, she points to the various ways in which senators’ freedom to introduce amendments or otherwise generate “credit-claiming” opportunities in other parts the legislative process has declined in recent years, leading senators to pursue those goals as part of the budget process. She recommends reforms to the procedures for considering the Senate budget resolution that could make the process run more smoothly, but cautions that any changes have to accommodate senators’ underlying political motives.

Partisan arguments are only part of the problem

While partisan arguments over the composition of the budget are prevalent,  that partisanship is not the cause of Congress’ recent failures to produce a budget. Instead, they say that the source of congressional dysfunction is the tendency of members of Congress to use budget propositions to communicate with their constituents, instead of creating feasible plans that focus on governing. Burgat and Hudar explain, “Budgets offered by both parties have morphed from honest funding proposals to party position papers.” This, they say, leads to a budget process that is highly publicized, filled with tension, and can cause debt crises and government shutdowns.