Closed Account in the United States

Closed (Canceled) Account in the Federal Budget Process

Meaning of Closed Account in the congressional and executive budget processes (GAO source): An appropriation account whose balance has been canceled. Once balances are canceled, the amounts are not available for obligation or expenditure for any purpose. An account available for a definite period (fixed appropriation account) is canceled 5 fiscal years after the period of availability for obligation ends. An account available for an indefinite period (no-year account) is canceled if (1) the head of the agency concerned or the President determines that the purposes for which the appropriation was made have been carried out and (2) no disbursement has been made against the appropriation for 2 consecutive fiscal years. (See also Expired Account; Obligational Authority.)

Resources

See Also

• Federal Appropriations
• Entries about the United States Budget Process in the Encyclopedia (including Closed Account)
• Public Debt

Further Reading

• Legislatures and the budget process: the myth of fiscal control

  (J Wehner, 2010)

• Reconcilable Differences?: Congress, the Budget Process, and the Deficit (JB Gilmour, 1990)
• Fiscal institutions and fiscal performance

  (JM Poterba, J von Hagen, 2008)