Executive Budget Formulation

Executive Budget Formulation in the United States

Executive Budget Formulation in the Federal Budget Process

Executive Budget Formulation in the congressional and executive budget processes (GAO source): The federal government begins (the execution and development of the Federal Budget) to assemble an annual federal budget in a long administrative process of budget preparation and review. This process may well take place several years before the budget for a particular fiscal year is ready to be submitted to Congress. The primary participants in the process at this stage are the agencies and individual organizational units, which review current operations, program objectives, and future plans, and OMB, the office within the Executive Office of the President charged with broad oversight, supervision, and responsibility for coordinating and formulating a consolidated budget submission. (See fig. 1 in app. II.)

By the first Monday in February, the President submits a budget request to Congress for the fiscal year starting on the following October 1 (i.e., in February 2005 the President submitted the budget request for fiscal year 2006, which runs from

October 1, 2005, through September 30, 2006). However, preparation of this particular budget request began about 10 months before it was submitted to Congress. For example, for the fiscal year 2006 budget request, transmitted to Congress in February 2005, the budget process began in the spring of 2004. Thus, federal agencies must deal concurrently with 3 fiscal years: (1) the current year, that is, the fiscal year in progress; (2) the coming fiscal year beginning October 1, for which they are seeking funds (for purposes of formulation of the President’s budget request, this fiscal year is known as the budget year); and (3) the following fiscal year, for which they are preparing information and requests. OMB Circular No. A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget (revised annually), provides detailed guidance to executive departments and establishments on preparing budget submissions. The President’s budget, which is the sole single document with budget information for the entire government, contains

•a record of actual receipts and spending levels for the fiscal year just completed;

•a record of current-year estimated receipts and spending; and

•estimated receipts and spending for the upcoming fiscal year and 9 years beyond, as proposed by the President.

Executive budget formulation, based upon proposals, evaluations, and policy decisions, begins in agencies’ organizational units. During executive budget formulation, federal agencies receive revenue estimates and economic projections from the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), and OMB.

Guide to U.S. Federal Executive Budget Formulation

  • Executive Budget Formulation
  • Next Budget Request
  • Initial Budget Request Materials
  • OMB Passback Decisions
  • President Budget Request
  • Mid-Session Review Document

Guide to Stages of the Federal Budgeting Process

  • Federal Budget Execution
  • Federal Budget Development
  • Executive Budget Formulation
  • Next Budget Request
  • Initial Budget Request Materials
  • OMB Passback Decisions
  • President Budget Request
  • Mid-Session Review Document
  • Congressional Budget Process
  • Budget Committees
  • Estimates Reports
  • Budget Resolution
  • Fiscal Legislation
  • Federal Budget Control
  • Impoundment

Resources

See Also

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)


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