Demystifying the Annual Budget Process

The president recently submitted his fiscal year 2024 budget to Congress, officially beginning the annual budget process. Though seemingly daunting, this process is straightforward, with four major steps.

Step 1: President’s Budget Submission

By law, the president must submit the next fiscal year’s budget request to Congress by the first Monday of February. Although this step officially starts the process, the submission is the culmination of yearlong efforts throughout the government. Federal agencies and oversight groups compile requirements supporting the administration’s priorities, before rolling them into the President’s Budget.

Step 2: Budget Resolution

Budget committees from both the House and the Senate review the budget submission and set their own resolutions. These resolutions estimate tax revenues and set the year’s spending limits for the federal government. If needed, agency officials testify before the committees to justify their budget requests. This step ends when Congress adopts a concurrent budget resolution, which sets overall revenue and spending targets and starts the congressional appropriation process.

Step 3: Appropriation Bills

Congress typically passes appropriations bills to fund the federal government. These bills move through various subcommittees and then to an appropriation committee on both sides of Congress. Once passed by the House and Senate, a congressional reconciliation process negotiates the separate versions of the appropriation bills into the final bills for presidential signature.

Step 4: Becoming Law

Congress sends the bills to the president, who either approves and signs them into law or vetoes and sends them back for adjustments.

Completing the process by the end of the fiscal year, September 30, enables agencies to continue operations into the new fiscal year. If a budget isn’t passed, a continuing resolution keeps operations running at the prior year’s funding levels. However, if Congress can’t agree on a continuing resolution, the government shuts down or limits operations.

While a well-justified and presented budget submission doesn’t guarantee passage on time, it increases the odds of receiving adequate funding for the new fiscal year. LMI’s experienced resource management practitioners have a deep understanding of the federal budget process and a suite of innovative budget tools. We assist our federal customers in drafting compelling budget justification material for the President’s Budget and thorough responses to congressional inquiries. For more information on how LMI assists with budget formulation, contact Charles Casserly, resource management practice area lead.

We assist our federal customers in drafting compelling budget justification material for the President’s Budget and thorough responses to congressional inquiries.