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Congressional & Presidential Budgets
Domestic Dollars and Sense -- March 26th, 2003
How to Read the President's Budget -- February 3, 2003
Understanding the President's Budget -- February 4, 2002
EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY TIP - DOMESTIC DOLLARS AND SENSE
Well, it’s started – and I’m not talking about spring. I’m referring, of course, to the war in Iraq. Regardless of your position on the war, it is important for effective advocates to understand that, hey, we still have our OWN country to run – and a great deal of money is going to change hands to make that happen.
How much money are we talking about? Over 1 trillion will be spent on domestic discretionary spending alone in the next year. While the majority of that will be for National Defense, several hundreds of billions of dollars remain for programs that advocates around the country care about. A couple weeks ago, I wrote about how to communicate your views when there are other priorities (http://www.advocacyguru.com/tipsheet.htm#feb17). This week, I want to offer three quick tips for advocates to help you understand the budget numbers behind domestic priorities. This is especially important at a time when lawmakers are focusing overseas more than ever.
Put it in perspective: Everyone has heard about the $75 billion the President has proposed for the war in Iraq, right? Gee, that sounds like a lot of money, and it is. However, putting aside disagreements on whether that’s a good way to spend money, what does that amount really reflect? In fact, it’s less than the President proposed to spend on education in FY2004 (not MUCH less, but still less). It’s considerably less then we’re going to spend on health care and social security. And, it’s less than ½ of our interest payment on the national debt. Believe me, I’m not defending the decision to spend taxpayer dollars in this fashion. All I’m trying to say is that effective advocates should not buy into the idea that there are no funds available for domestic priorities. And, perhaps most important, advocates should not let lawmakers buy into that argument either.
Learn about the numbers: It can be difficult to make these arguments without knowing the numbers. But elected officials are going to want to know a few key things about every budget request, so be sure you can answer the following questions:
¨ How much are we spending now?
¨ What have we done with that money?
¨ How much do you think we should spend?
¨ Why?
¨ How does that compare to other, similar spending?
Fortunately, there are a number of great resources out there. First of all, the National Priorities Project (www.nationalpriorities.org) has some fabulous charts, figures, graphs and table that make the budget easy to understand for anyone. I especially like the overview of the President’s proposed budget at: http://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget/FY04/ProposedFY04Budget.pdf as well as the pie chart at: http://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget/FY04/DiscretionaryPieFY2004.html. USBudget.com (www.usbudget.com) also provides a great service (there is a yearly service fee). They provide in-depth analysis of budget issues and give users the flexibility to monitor individual bills or segments of bills unique to their issues.
Learn about the language: What’s the difference between budget authority and outlay? Baselines and budget functions? Resolutions and reconciliations? If these questions keep you awake at night, there are a number of great resources available to help you out. Yet advocates should have a basic understanding of the terms and the process in order to be effective. For terms, check out the following “glossaries” of budget terms:
· http://www.rms.net/gloss_govt.htm
· http://www.thecapitol.net/glossary/
· http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=4032&sequence=14
For a quick, easy overview of the process, go to the House Budget Committee’s site at www.house.gov/budget and click on the “Budget Tutorial” (lower right-hand side). Then, click on the CRS report on the budget process – six relatively painless pages on how it all works.
Want more details? Order the CD-Rom of the AdVanced Consulting / GalleryWatch.com workshop “The Budget and Appropriations Process: Making Sense of the Dollars and Cents.” You can learn more about the process and how to be effective from me and George Krumbhar, founder of USBudget.com.
If you take anything away from this tipsheet, I hope it’s this. Even in times of war, domestic priorities are important – perhaps even more important than ever. Federal, state and local governments will be spending lots of money on everything from education to agriculture to potholes (I hope). So as you’re glued to the evening news, participating in demonstrations, or hiding in your basement with plastic sheeting over your windows, ask yourself “whether I agree with this war or not, what kind of country do I want to live in?” And then, go out there and do what you can to make it that kind of country. In essence, go forth and advocate.
INTERESTING WEBSITES
Thank you to my friend Sally McConnell for letting me know about the Acronym finder at www.acronymfinder.com. This is a tremendously useful tool, especially for those of us in DC, which is absolutely overrun with acronyms.
Calling all non-profits: The Not For Profit Network seeks to offer resources for and information about not for profit, nonprofit, NGOs, charities, and community groups from around the world. Check them out at: http://www.NotForProfitNetwork.org.
If you want a quick and easy way to track spending for candidates in this election-cycle, check out www.politicalmoneyline.com. They offer a range of free resources on the site (but you can also pay, if you want, for other more extensive services). Their graphs of individual expenditures in individual races are pretty cool.
Another good resource for election 2004 information is Pure Politics at: http://www.purepolitics.com/election2004.htm. And their French jokes page (http://www.purepolitics.com/frenchjokes.htm) is kind of funny as well. It pokes fun of, well, everyone pretty unilaterally. Don’t get me wrong – some of my best friends are French!
INTERESTING EVENTS
March 28th, 2003: GalleryWatch.com and AdVanced Consulting join forces to offer “The Budget and Appropriations Process: Making Sense of the Dollars and Cents”. It's never too late to order the course on CD-Rom!
April 14 – 25, 2003: Congressional Spring Break – think now about how you can connect with your elected officials during this time!
EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY TIP - HOW TO READ THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET
Today, the Bush Administration submitted its proposed budget for FY04. What does that mean? Well, for you, me and the guy down the street, not necessarily a whole lot at this point. Basically, the President’s proposed budget reflects his outline for how the Federal Government should spend money. As such, it is an important political document laying out the Administration’s priorities.
But as you recall from Civics 101, the Congress has the actual power of the purse. So before you start spending the $1,100 that the President proposes “on average” in tax cuts, recognize that this is just the first step in a very, very, very long process. Next, the Congress must pass its own blueprint (the budget resolution) as well as a Budget Reconciliation and the 13 appropriations bills. Confused yet? There’s a great explanation of the process through the reports on the Budget Committee’s page at: http://www.house.gov/budget/budgettutorial.htm.
If you’re REALLY CONFUSED, AdVanced Consulting and GalleryWatch.com offered a workshop on this very topic on March 28, 2003 called “The Budget and Appropriations Process: Making Sense of the Dollars and Cents.”. You can order the course on CD-Rom and walk away with a better understanding of the budget process and some ideas on how to influence that process.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled program. On to the President’s Budget…
The Administration’s proposed Budget can be accessed on the web at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/usbudget/budget-fy2004/. And, to give equal time to those who might disagree with the budget proposals, check out the Democratic Leadership’s response at: http://democraticleader.house.gov/media/releases/20030129-17-522722.asp.
When you go to the White House site you will see that the budget is divided into 5 parts. Those seeking a simple overview should take a look at the “Budget” document itself, which offers a general summary. If you are interested in a particular program, check out the Appendix. Remember that the numbers proposed in the budget are simply proposals, and do not have the force of law.
“Budget of the United States Government Fiscal Year, 2003”: This first document contains a very broad summary of the budget proposal. It outlines the President’s main messages and is considered by political analysts to be an overview of the President’s priorities.
“Analytical Perspectives”: This document includes spending forecasts, detailed information on receipts and expenses, and a listing of all federal accounts. If you’re looking for line-by-line information on specific programs, look here or in the Appendix.
“Historical Tables”: This document is intended for those who need to analyze budget trends over time.
“Appendix”: This document is designed for use by the Congressional Appropriations Committees. Interestingly (and some say “maddeningly”, the federal administrative budget and the Congressional appropriations bills are not directly interrelated. Budget function numbers do not necessarily correspond directly to accounts in the 13 appropriations bills. That’s why you might see a program that is run out of the Department of Interior be funded from the Agriculture appropriations bill instead of the Interior appropriations bill. The Appendix document seeks to make those connections for all programs across all federal agencies.
"Budget Systems and Concepts": This document helps explain the concepts used in formulating the budget.
For a great analysis of the budget written in terms that you and I can understand, check out the Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18734-2003Feb3.html. C-Span also has highlighted the budget at http://www.c-span.org/.
EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY TIP: UNDERSTAND THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET
Today, the Bush Administration submitted its proposed budget for FY03. Last week’s tipsheet commented on the importance of understanding the budget. This week’s special edition is designed to help you achieve that understanding.
The Administration’s proposed Budget can be accessed on the web at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2003/. And, to give equal time to those who might disagree with the budget proposals, check out the Democratic Leadership’s response at: http://democraticleader.house.gov/bushbudget/index.html.
When you go to the White House site you will see that the budget is divided into 5 parts. Those seeking a simple overview should take a look at the “Budget” document itself, which offers a general summary. If you are interested in a particular program, check out the Appendix. Remember that the numbers proposed in the budget are simply proposals, and do not have the force of law.
“Budget of the United States Government Fiscal Year, 2003”: This first document contains a very broad summary of the budget proposal. It oulines the President’s main messages and is considered by political analysts to be an overview of the President’s priorities.
“Analytical Perspectives”: This document includes spending forecasts, detailed information on receipts and expenses, and a listing of all federal accounts. If you’re looking for line-by-line information on specific programs, look here or in the Appendix.
“Historical Tables”: This document is intended for those who need to analyze budget trends over time.
“Appendix”: This document is designed for use by the Congressional Appropriations Committees. Interestingly (and some say “maddeningly”, the federal administrative budget and the Congressional appropriations bills are not directly interrelated. Budget function numbers do not necessarily correspond directly to accounts in the 13 appropriations bills. That’s why you might see a program that is run out of the Department of Interior be funded from the Agriculture appropriations bill instead of the Interior appropriations bill. The Appendix document seeks to make those connections for all programs across all federal agencies.
"Budget Systems and Concepts": This document helps explain the concepts used in formulating the budget.
For a great analysis of the budget written in terms that you and I can understand, check out the Washington Post at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19985-2002Feb4.html or C-Span.org at on C-Span’s Capitol Spotlight page at http://www.c-span.org/capitolspotlight/index.asp
INTERESTING WEBSITES
Normally I disapprove of sites that “bash” elected officials, but I was sucked in to Stanford’s Whack-a-Pol game (maybe because I got to focus on particular pols I wanted to whack…) Check it out at: http://pcl.stanford.edu/exp/whack/pol/index.html
