Budget

NAWB’s GUIDE TO THE FEDERAL BUDGET

CONTACT US

As the national voice for the workforce development system, our priority is ensuring Congress and the Administration understand the incredible impact our system has as the last mile of job creation.

It is the American Workforce Development Boards and Job Centers that help more than 1 million Americans each year return to the workforce. A key component of this effort is the support provided by the federal government through the annual appropriations process. The federal budget process can seem confusing and overly complex. Here is our 30,000 ft view on the federal budget process, or “Budget 101” as well as the latest table on funding for the primary programs from the Department of Labor and Department of Education important to the workforce system to better help you understand the process. This is not an exhaustive list of federal programs which provide funding to workforce boards across the country. We have included links to the most updated budget charts from several federal agencies to help you locate specific program funding. This page is continuously updated and you can download the latest chart of funding here. Contact the NAWB team with questions.

The Budget

Step 1: The President Proposes

  • Federal Agencies develop their annual budgets and present to President for consideration
  • In addition to proposing line-by-line program funding, the President’s budget also includes new policy proposals
  • President submits his or her budget by the first Monday in February
  • The President's budget proposal is simply a request and does not have the force of law behind it
  • The Office of Management and Budget website for the Budget is online here.

Step 2: Congress Appropriates: The Congressional Process

  • Budget Committees begin hearings process to question the Administration about the President’s budget (various Cabinet Secretaries come before Committees)
  • Budget Committees draft the Budget Resolution, which sets the top-line for the Federal Budget
  • Budget Committees in the House & Senate present the resolutions to the two Chambers and a majority vote is needed to approve the resolution
  • The resolution contains a table (called the 302(a)allocations) which gives the committees charged with the appropriations process their total amounts to allocate. 
  • The Budget Resolution is not an official piece of legislation
  • The Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate allocate budgets to the 12 sub-committees who allocate to the various programs under their jurisdiction.  WIOA is in the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor/HHS/Education and Related Agencies. When the committee passes a bill and make it available, they will post it here. Often, Labor/HHS has many ideological “policies” inside the bill, which often makes it one of the most contentious and last to be resolved in the process.
  • 115th Congress Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor/HHS/Education and Related Agencies
  • Senator Roy Blunt, Chair (R-MO) – Senator Patty Murray, Ranking Member (D-WA)
  • Rep. Tom Cole, Chair (R-OK4th) – Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member (D-CT3rd)

Step 3: The “Final” Appropriation

 

  • The last part of the process can be complicated by actions of the Committees and/or Congress as a whole, but in short;
  • the 12 Appropriations bills are adopted or modified by the Committees or by Congress as a whole through budget rules Congress has set in place to reduce the deficit, (Budget Control Act of 2011) or
  • Congress can set-aside the limits of the BCA11, as they did in 2015 and again in 2017. (The next budget impacted by these limits is FY2022)
  • Failure to approve the 12 bills, necessitates a single/series of Continuing Resolutions to keep the government funded beyond the end of the Federal Fiscal year on September 30th, and/or
  • Can result in a single bill – the Omnibus – that funds everything on an up/down yes/no vote by Members
  • Policy riders (language in legislation that has little or no connection to the subject matter of the bill) can slow the appropriations process down
  • Remember the first proposed number you see by the Committees isn’t usually the final number in the appropriations bill. The House and Senate have to agree on numbers.
  • You can follow all appropriations bills for this year and past years (to compare prior funding levels for important programs) on Congress.gov by clicking here.

 

Share by: