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The Budget Process

Development of the President's Budget Proposal

First Steps

• The Department of the Interior and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provide guidance on Secretarial and Presidential priorities.
• The USGS interacts with stakeholdersthrough lectures and conferences and customer listening sessions

May – June

• Preparation of the "Budget Request" to Department

July – August

• The USGS presents the budget to the Secretary
• Secretary's decision
• Preparation and finalization of the "Budget Estimates" for OMB

September

• OMB Hearing
• Decisions made by
  • the OMB Examiner for the USGS and OMB Branch Chief for Interior
  • top management, including OMB Director

November

• "Passback" (The OMB sends its proposed budget amendments back to the Department and USGS)
• The USGS makes its appeals through the Department

December – January

• Final decisions by the OMB and Department
• Finishing touches on the "Greenbook," which is due to Congress on the first Monday in February

February

• Rollout of President's Budget Proposal ("Greenbook" sent to Congress)

Development of an Appropriations Law

February – September (in a normal budget cycle)

1. President's Budget Proposal
2. Congressional Hearings
3. Congressional Markup
4. Conference
5. Passage of Appropriations Law or Continuing Resolution

Ongoing

• Supplemental Appropriations

Congressional Hearings

House and Senate appropriations subcommittees hold hearings to allow the agencies to describe and defend their budget proposals.

• The USGS budget is handled by the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee.
• The USGS Director may be invited to testify on the USGS budget.
• All testimony must comport with Administration policy.

Congressional Questions for the Record

• After the hearings, the subcommittees submit questions about the budget. 
• The USGS prepares answers that must be cleared by the Department and the OMB.
• The Hearing Record includes written and oral testimony as well as questions and answers.

Congressional Priorities

• In addition to our budget request, the appropriations subcommittees consider requests from other sources with divergent interests, including lobby groups and other members of Congress.

Markups

• "Markup" is the process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation
• The prior year's bill language is physically "marked up" according to current congressional priorities.

Conference

• Differences between the House and Senate bills are settled in "Conference."
• When the Conference Agreement has been approved by the full House and full Senate, the Appropriations Bill has passed Congress.

Appropriations Law

• Once the Appropriations Bill has been passed, it is sent to the White House.
• The President has 10 days to sign the bill into law or veto it.

Continuing Resolutions

What happens if an appropriations bill does not become law before October 1 (the beginning of the fiscal year)?

• A continuing resolution allows government to continue operating with certain limitations (such as a timeframe and spending rate).
• Congress passes a continuing resolution for a specified period of time, the continuing resolution bill goes to the President for signature.
• No new projects are started while a continuing resolution is in effect.
• Without an appropriation or a continuing resolution, agencies would have to shut down.

Supplemental Appropriations

• Supplemental appropriations may be passed at any point in the year to make funds available immediately.
• These are usually associated with one or more emergencies that require additional funding.
• For the USGS, these typically fund the repair or replacement of damaged equipment or facilities related to natural disasters.

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