The United States Federal Budget Process

The United State Constitution entitles the purse power as a meaningful Legislature which comprises the authority to collect and create taxes as well as borrowing currency when the need arises. However, the Constitution is not clearly specifying how the assembly should use the underlying powers and how the federal financial plan procedure would grind. Either way, the constitution also does not stipulate the role played by the president in the nation’s finances management. The unspecified factors in the constitution resulted in the evolution of the budget process over a period of time. In the twentieth era, the Congress approved major acts into laws which shaped the current budgeting process as well as forming the federal agencies that include the office of government accountability, the office of congressional budget and the management and budget office. All these agencies provide the research crucial and oversight to budget creating in the United States of America(Cullingworth and Caves 76).

Before the budget procedures, the Congress crafts a new financial plan for the country annually. The yearly congressional budget process which is also referred as the appropriations process is under the appropriations bills which postulate on how much cash would be branched to various government programs and agencies. According to the funding bills, the Congress should authorize legislation that runs the federal administration the permissible power to essentially expend the allocated money. Authorizations bills frequently cover several years, hence approving statute does not require passing the Congress each year same as the appropriations bills. However, when a multi-year sanction deceases, the Congress repeatedly approves a reauthorization to endure the platforms in the query. Authorizations bills also have other purposes to serve. Nevertheless, there exist some categories of expenditure which are referred as the mandatory or direct spending since it is not focused on the appropriations progression. The authorization delivers the lawful authority for the compulsory and direct expenditure. The federal outlay for Medicare and social security welfares is part of obligatory expenditure, since conferring to the authorization; the administration should by law remunerate profits to every qualified beneficiary.

The Federal government has five main steps in creating and implementing the country budget. The budget process steps one is the President submission of a budget request to the Congress(Sadiq et al. 84). The president request is usually sent every February of the year for the imminent financial year that commences on October 1st.  The second step after the president submission of the budget request, both the Senate Committee and the House Committee on the Budget vote and write on budget determinations. In the third step Federal budget plan, the Appropriations Committees from both chambers that is the House and the Senate committees take the responsibility of determining the specific stages of budget specialist and allowed expenditure for every flexible platform. The Senate plus the full House committee take to the stage to vote and debate on the Appropriations bills from all twelve sub-committees and that is the fourth step. The fifth step and final step is that the head of state should indicate every appropriations bill after the approval by the Congress for the bill to be enforced as a law. The president signs the 12 Appropriations bills hence terminating the financial plan procedure. However, hardly is work over on the entire twelve bills by October 1st, the twitch of the novel financial year.

In Hawaii, the pursuant to the Planning, Budgeting System, and Programming, as well as the Executive Budget Act of 1970 of the State, was implemented. The main reason for the adoption of the act is to assimilate the budgeting processes, planning and programming in order to advance decision making on the resources allocation. The act provided a complete system for the State platforms and the associated prices for a time mounting to six annuals. The capital and operating improvement necessities are assessed collectively to indemnify mutual support and compatibility. Systematic appraisals and scrutinizes are carried out to determine the accomplishment of program aims and substitute means and approaches of cultivating the current State amenities. The act delivers to the Finance Director and the Governor that they may adopt and reserve the prearranged outflows if the disbursements would be in surplus of accredited service levels. They also provide powers in the event that State surpluses and revenues could be inadequate to encounter approved disbursement levels.

The state budgets on a biennium source with the Administrative biennium financial plan succumbed to the Government for accomplishment on peculiar totaled years hence supplementing the budget acquiesced on uniform add up years. Nevertheless, the State’s financial year starts on July 1st all though to June 30th. Usually, the functioning appropriations are operative for at least one-year time and any unencumbered and unexpended appropriations break at the culmination of the financial year. The capital enhancement package appropriations are active for an at least three-year timeline that is the financial biennium with an additional one year. For the capital enhancement program, any unencumbered and unexpended appropriations interval at the conclusion of the three-year financial period.

According to the Constitution, the Governor should contemplate the Council on revenue estimates in the Executive financial plan preparation. Further, the Legislature should priorities the council’s projections in adopting treasuries. In the case scenario where the Legislature and the Governor do not practice the forecasts of the council, a public announcement should be made to the underlying effect attached to the motives for not expending the estimates. The council creates trimestral predictions that match with several segments of the financial plan provision as well as the process execution. The 10th of September prognosis is castoff by the management in formulating the executive financial plan. Moreover, the January 10th calculation is recycled by the Assembly in preparing for seizures at the legislative gathering. Finally, the March 15th projection is used by the Administration in manufacturing adoptions hence the June 1st prediction is used in financial plan implementation by the Administrative.

In Honolulu County, the financial year commences on 1st July and culminates on 30th June of the subsequent year. The Charter necessitates that the administrative financial plan for the City should be acquiesced by the Mayor on the yearly beginning and endorsed by the Assembly. The major constituents of the City’s financial plan are the diverse budget processes as well as the revenue platform of the city. The executive operational budget is where the City gets the cash and formulate on how to pay for daily maneuvers. Operating incidentals are compensated for with money returns. The capital budget of the executive pinpoints long lasting plans, lavatories and large paraphernalia that the City strategies to improve as well as purchasing over a specific period of time usually six years. Normally, the prime CIP subsidy source is pledge incomes. The legislative budget offers the subsidy for governmental subdivision organizations and classically only comprises of seizures for effective expenditures that are supported by money earnings. The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (JHART) is a semi-autonomous civic transfer consultant which was created in order to manage the operation and building of the handrail scheme. However, the HART operating together with the capital finances deliver subsidy for the City’s handrail shipment scheme(Shafritz and Hyde 112).

The revenue process and program encompassed several sponsoring appliances such as fees, taxes as well as bond takings to invest in the projected financial plans of the City. The projected revenue producing legislature is the focus to adjustment by the Council of the City. The Council should yearly set factual possessions tax charges in unification with the implementation of the City financial statement. The annual financial plan of City cycle largely involves three stages. The Administration together with the Mayor prepares the capital and the operating financial statement, laterally with an income platform for the approaching fiscal year. Moreover, the HART also autonomously formulates the effective and capital financial plans to be submitted to the Council through the office of the Mayor. Instantaneously, the Councils Chairperson also concocts the legislative financial plan in order to provide finance for the legislative subdivision effective charges.

According to the constitution section 9-102, RCH, it gives power to the Mayor which helps in submitting to the Council every document relating to the projected administrative financial plans for not exceeding 120 days prior to the termination of the financial year. Equally, according to Section 3-111 RCH, of the budget bill, expects the Assembly to succumb the projected legislative financial plan 120 days or more prior to the termination of the financial year. Further, Section 17-106, RCH, necessitates the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit to forward the financial plan to the Council via the Mayor’s Office by 1st December of every year.

The suggested budgets and supplementary booklets are typically submitted on 2nd March. However, in the period between June and March, the Council carries out a review of the projected budgets and implements the financial plan for the subsequent fiscal year. In Phase II of the financial planning process, the Council can modify any of the revenue measures and projected budget plans, as it considers applicable. When the Council adoptions the projected financial plan, the budget decrees are the focus to the endorsement as well as the veto by the Mayor. If the budget is applicable, the successive override is carried on by the Council. Once the financial plans are passed, agencies are approved to create disbursements. Once approved, the operating appropriations are legal for at least one economic year while CIP appropriations are valid for at least 24 months or two years cumulatively

The Legislative Processes

According to federal, the Laws start as concepts and thoughts. In the first place, a representative promotes a bill. The bill is forwarded and then allocated to a committee for further research and study. After the study and release by the selected committee, the bill is allocated a date on the calendar for voting, debated as well as modification. If the bill is endorsed by the simple majority that is 218 out of 435 committee members, the bill is then forwarded to the Senate chambers. On the Senate floor, the bill is again given to another committee to follow the due process and check if it was voted, debated on and released. Similarly, a simple majority of the floor that is 51out of 100 members endorses the bill. In the final step to pass the bill into law, the conference member committee from both the House and the Senate member’s carriers out any alterations between the two chambers forms of the bill. The resultant bill proceeds to the Senate and House for the concluding endorsement(Spalding 175). The Printing Office of Government prints the reviewed and endorsed the bill in a process referred as the enrolling procedure. Lastly, the President has up to 10 days to veto or sign the registered bill.

Moreover, in Hawaii for the bill to successfully pass and amend in law, it must go through the committees of the Senate and the House and have been referred to it. The bill should successfully pass the reading from both chambers and all the members to assemble. After the bill has successfully endorsed by the two floors and has agreed on the exact wording, then it is passed to the Governor to be signed and allowed into law. The House and the Senate can also successfully override the Governor’s veto. The bill has to go through all these processes within the allocated dates and have to meet the deadlines.

In Honolulu County, the legislative process is carried out by the City Council. The City Council is responsible for endorsing the bills and passing them into law since it is a lawmaking body of the Honolulu City and County. The Council is responsible for advancing and serving the overall welfare, safety, health sector and happiness of the citizens through practicing the legislative rights and power(Sinclair 214). Just like Federal and Hawaii legislative processes, the Honolulu passes the bills in the same formula. The bill must be discussed in both houses of the county level before it is signed and approved by the governor in the law.

The Budget Process

Congressional Authorizing, Appropriations, and Oversight Committees

In accordance with the congressional authorization and appropriation process, it has the ability to appropriate and authorize funds provided Congress with an authoritative tools to control and oversight the intelligence actions. The purse power is a two-step procedure of authorization and appropriation over federal expenditure which provides prospects for culpability from the intelligence community to Congress. When the financial plans are conscripted and appropriations are put across, Congress has the mandate and obligation to confirm that the Intelligence Community spends cash to the best in the line of meeting the national security objectives. Nevertheless, through the standard budgetary of the congressional process, the committees of congressional intelligence first approve treasuries before the disbursement of the appropriations commissions(Cullingworth and Caves 241). The Intelligence authorization legislation has a right to continue, establish, and change the Intelligence Congressional programs as well as activities. However, the process can be complex and long because of the collective responsibilities and overlying jurisdiction amongst the congressional committees.

The financial planning process will not be comprehensive until the appropriations course provides the authentic finance for the programs and activities reputable via the authorization procedure. The mainstream of the intelligence financial plan acts as an undisclosed lump-sum quantity in the Appropriations Bill of Defense. For instance, in reaction to the Iran-Contra humiliation of the year 1980, Congress involved a definition of the covert action in the year 1991 intelligence authorization bill which is essential to the congressional intelligence committees and is informed of every activity in the script by the Head of state.

Biennial and Supplemental Budgets

In the Biennial financial arrangements, it includes numerous discrepancies. It can include two-year seizures, multiyear approvals, two-year financial plan determinations and even some amalgamation of the three. Majority of these proposals integrate the three factors altogether. Biennial financial planning has an extensive history at the government level. Even though the drift has been for the federations to renovate to a year financial management cycle, 19 states presently function with a two-year sequence. Nonetheless, other states still maneuver with diverse sequences that put important servings of their budgets on a two-year succession.

The advocates of biennial financial planning commonly contend that a two-year financial plan cycle would decrease the congressional amount of work by eradicating the necessity for yearly evaluation of repetitive matters. Furthermore, it reserves the 2nd gathering of all Congress for better-quality congressional program and oversight review. Finally, it allows improved long-lasting planning at the local levels, federal as well as the state. The critics of biennial financial arrangements have defied that the predictable reimbursements would demonstrate to be deceptive.

The Executive Budget and the Office of Management and Budget’s role

Protrusive expenditures and revenues for a cycle of two-year require forecasting for more than 30 months in progress. These might outcome in less precise estimates and might also require Congress to select between permitting the President greater autonomy for constructing budgetary modifications in the off-years(Navarre et al. 187). Moreover, it allows the engagement in the mid-cycle adjustments to a gradation that would efficiently destabilize any lessening in the capacity and anticipated enhancements in financial planning. Opponents also pinpoint that yearly evaluation of appropriations desires is a significant part of oversight which might be lost under a biennial financial plan with no assurance that a distinct oversight conference would be operative. Additionally, they claim that tumbling the number of stretches that Congress deliberates financial plan matters may only elevate the dangers hence intensifying the likelihood of increased delays as well as conflict.

The Item Veto

In the year 2015, 44 states plus the Columbia District allowed the governor to veto particular substances in the financial plan. In other states, the governor has the right to veto an entry and amount; while in other states confine the veto possibility. Even though the line-item veto is a popular and corporate establishment it is not clear that it accomplishes the consequence of rehearsal. Furthermore, it is often praised as a better way to restraint in unnecessary expenditure. For instance, the one definitive study observed in the year 1982 data about 50 states, it was realized that the line-item veto condensed state expenditure when the legislature and the governor were organized by diverse parties. The study of the year 2003 confirmed these results, once more finding a reduction in per capita expenditure as well as taxes originating from line-item vetoes under the divided government. However, some researchers which use diverse methodological approaches find the line-item veto displays no consequence on the state expenditure.

Moreover, the study on the governors’ utilization of the line-item veto in the year 1980 realizes that reason being a better instrument of financial restraint. The line-item veto permits the governor to employ influence in order to achieve a financial plan which replicates the partialities other than the legislatures. Back in the year 2006, the case study on Georgia coincides, confirms that the line-item veto is purposely not used to diminish expenditure but rather to offer protection to the executive financial plan priorities. In the government of division, the line-item veto supremacy can aid in reducing state outlay, otherwise utilized as an implement to improve the governor’s financial plan significances.

Worked Cited

Cullingworth, Barry, and Roger W. Caves. Planning in the USA. 2013.

Navarre, Ginni Bella, et al. The 2017-18 Budget. Legislative Analyst’s Office, 2017.

Sadiq, Kerrie, et al. Principles of Taxation Law 2018. Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia

Pty Limited, 2017.

Shafritz, Jay M., and Albert C. Hyde. Classics of Public Administration. Wadsworth, 2017.

Sinclair, Barbara. Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes in the U.S. Congress. 2017.

Spalding, Maddie. How the Legislative Branch Works. 2017.