Authorizing Committee in the United States

Authorizing Committee in the Federal Budget Process

Meaning of Authorizing Committee in the congressional and executive budget processes (GAO source): A standing committee of the House or Senate with legislative jurisdiction over the establishment, continuation, and operations of federal programs or agencies. The jurisdiction of such committees extends, in addition to program legislation, to authorization of appropriations legislation. (Normally, authorization of appropriations legislation is a prerequisite for making appropriations for the given programs or agencies.) An authorizing committee also has jurisdiction in those instances where backdoor authority is provided in the substantive legislation. For further discussion, see the current rules of the House of Representatives and the Senate. (See also Authorizing Legislation; Backdoor Authority/Backdoor Spending; Oversight Committee; Spending Committee.)

Resources

See Also

• Federal Appropriations
• Entries about the United States Budget Process in the Encyclopedia (including Authorizing Committee)
• 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)