The Budget Process: Background

Topics:

Balanced Budget

• A Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment: Background and Congressional Options, Congressional Research Service, June 8, 2011

Budget Process

• Introduction to the Federal Budget Process
  Congressional Research Service report, December 2, 2010.
• National Priorities Project
  National Priorities Project says it is “the only nonprofit, non-partisan federal budget research organization in the nation with the mission to make the federal budget accessible to the American public.” It reports on the impact of federal budget and spending priorities on the cities and states.

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/federal-budget-process/ and A People’s Guide to the Federal Budget.

• CQ Almanac Annual. 1946-2012
  Washington: Congressional Quarterly, 1945-
  Columbia Libraries Catalog Call No. JK 1 .C66
      Outlines the entire budgetary process for the preceding year; useful for overview of budget allocations and political strategies.
• Schick, Allen. The Federal Budget: Politics, Policy, Process. 3rd ed.
  Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, c2007.
  Columbia Libraries Catalog Call No.HJ 2051 .S3424 2007
• The Federal Budget Process 101, from the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Context of the Budget

• The Tax Foundation – a nonprofit research think tank on tax policy. 
  • Facts and Figures on Government Finance. Annual.
    New York, Tax Foundation, 1941-2004.
    Columbia Libraries Catalog Call No. HJ 257 .T198

Online text available for 2004, 1994, through ProQuest. See CLIO catalog for link.

• Statistical Abstract of the United States.
  • 1878-2012 - U.S. Census Bureau (discontinued) Annual. 1878-2012
    Columbia Libraries Catalog Call No. HA202 .Un31 (Copies available in multiple locations)
  • 2013-present - Now provided by ProQuest.

National Debt

• U.S. Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The mission of the Fiscal Service is to borrow the money needed to operate the federal government and to account for the resulting debt.
  • The Debt to the Penny and Who Holds It

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/debt/current

Other

• A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget. Annual.
  Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1996-2003.
• Tomkin, Shelley Lynne. Inside OMB : Politics and Process in the President's Budget Office  Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c1998.
  Columbia Libraries Catalog Call No. HJ 2051 .T63 1998
• Wetterau, Bruce.  Congressional Quarterly's Desk Reference on the Federal Budget.  Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, c1998.
  Columbia Libraries Catalog Call No. HJ 2051 .W43 1998
      A handy guide in a question-and-answer format; includes a number of tables & charts.