Backdoor Spending in the United States

Backdoor Authority/Backdoor Spending in the Federal Budget Process

Meaning of Backdoor Spending in the congressional and executive budget processes (GAO source): A colloquial phrase for budget authority provided in laws other than appropriations acts, including contract authority and borrowing authority, as well as entitlement authority and the outlays that result from that budget authority. (See also Appropriations and Contract Authority under Forms of Budget Authority under Budget Authority; Authorizing Legislation; Entitlement Authority; Spending Committee.)

Resources

See Also

• Federal Appropriations
• Entries about the United States Budget Process in the Encyclopedia (including Backdoor Spending)
• 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)