This is a supplement to our series on how to read appropriations bills. 1. Where to start? 2. Structure 3. Account Text 4. General and Administrative Provisions 5. Reports and Explanatory Statements 6. Stages of Consideration The earlier posts in this series taught you how to read an enacted appropriations
The budget resolution gave the orders. The committees produced their titles. The Budget Committee stapled them together. Now there's a bill. Here's how to read it — and the surprising thing about most of it is, it doesn't have a dollar figure anywhere in sight.
The budget resolution we covered in Part 1 wasn't just a fiscal plan. If it included reconciliation instructions, it was also marching orders — directing specific committees to produce specific legislation by specific deadlines. Here's how to read those orders. In Part 1, we covered the budget
Buried in the budget resolution are instructions that unlock one of the most powerful, yet complicated, tools in Congress: reconciliation. Here's what it is, why it exists, and how it's evolved from a deficit-reduction mechanism into the primary vehicle for party-line policy. In Part 1, we
The President's budget just dropped. Congress will ignore much of it and enact some of it. But before Congress can write its own spending and tax bills, it needs a plan — and that plan is the budget resolution. We just finished a four-part series on the President'
The Appendix has the numbers. The CBJs have the why. But buried on OMB's supplemental materials page are five documents that most people skip — and they're some of the most useful tools in the entire budget release. In Part 1, we covered the Budget Appendix — account-by-account
It's Friday, April 3, 2026. The White House just released the President's FY 2027 Budget Request. Your inbox is blowing up. Here's what you need to know right now. The 60-Second Version Question Answer What just dropped? The 2027 Budget Fact Sheets Is this
Last week, the Budget Appendix told you the President requested $8.7 billion last year for Federal Prison System, Salaries and Expenses. Two pages of numbers. No explanation. The Congressional Budget Justification for the Bureau of Prisons? That's where you'll find out exactly why. In Part
The FY 2027 President's Budget Request could drop as early as next week. The Appendix is the heart of the request: 1,200+ pages of account-level detail. This is the document that matters. Let's get into it. The 60-Second Version Question Answer What is it? The
The bill tells agencies what they can spend. The report tells them what Congress actually expects. This is the final part of our series on how to read appropriations bills. 1. Where to start? 2. Structure 3. Account Text 4. General and Administrative Provisions 5. Reports and Explanatory Statements The
The accounts appropriate the money. The provisions set the rules. This is the fourth part of our series on how to read appropriations bills. 1. Where to start? 2. Structure 3. Account Text 4. General and Administrative Provisions 5. Reports and Explanatory Statements The 60-Second Version Question Answer What are
A single appropriations account can contain $38 billion, six numbered paragraphs, 49 provisos, an "of which" clause, and span multiple pages. How do you read that? This is the third part of our series on how to read appropriations bills. 1. Where to start? 2. Structure 3. Account
Appropriations
You found the right bill. It's 200 pages. Now what? This is the second part of our series on how to read appropriations bills. 1. Where to start? 2. Structure 3. Account Text 4. General and Administrative Provisions 5. Reports and Explanatory Statements I'll be honest,
Appropriations
Congress passed a 567-page spending bill. You need to find one thing. Where do you even start? This is the first part in our series: How to Read an Appropriations Act 1. Where to start? 2. Structure 3. Account Text 4. General and Administrative Provisions 5. Reports and Explanatory Statements
SF-133
Obligations are promises. Outlays are checks. This is the fourth and final part in our four-part series on the SF-133. 1. What is an SF-133? 2. How to Read an SF-133, Part I: Budgetary Resources (1XXX Lines) 3. How to Read an SF-133, Part II: Status of Budgetary Resources (2XXX
SF-133
Congress provided $100 million. What did the agency do with it? This is the third part in our four-part series on the SF-133. 1. What is an SF-133? 2. How to Read an SF-133, Part I: Budgetary Resources (1XXX Lines) 3. How to Read an SF-133, Part II: Status of
SF-133
Before you can track what was spent, you need to know what was available. This is the second part in our four-part series on the SF-133. 1. What is an SF-133? 2. How to Read an SF-133, Part I: Budgetary Resources (1XXX Lines) 3. How to Read an SF-133, Part
SF-133
The apportionment told the agency what it could spend. The SF-133 tells you what actually happened. This is the first part in our four-part series on the SF-133. 1. What is an SF-133? 2. How to Read an SF-133, Part I: Budgetary Resources (1XXX Lines) 3. How to Read an
Apportionments
The difference between an accounting note and a criminal referral often comes down to a single letter. In Part II, we look at why 'A' footnotes carry the weight of the law—and why a $1 mistake can trigger a federal investigation. This is the final part in
Apportionments
You found an apportionment. Now what? This is the second part in our three-part series on apportionments. 1. What is an apportionment? 2. How to Read an Apportionment, Part I: Structure and Time-Based Controls 3. How to Read an Apportionment, Part II: Program Controls and Legal Weight In our first
Apportionments
Congress appropriated $198 million. But the agency can only spend $55 million this quarter. What happened to the rest? This is the first part in our three-part series on apportionments. 1. What is an apportionment? 2. How to Read an Apportionment, Part I: Structure and Time-Based Controls 3. How to
Budget Fundamentals
If you've ever ordered food at a nice restaurant, you already understand appropriations, obligations, and outlays. Every federal budget document uses the same three terms. Every spending headline throws them around. And almost everyone—including people who should know better—gets them confused. Fortunately, the concepts are pretty
Budget Fundamentals
Every dollar the federal government spends is tracked using a unique identifier that most people have never heard of. Here's Section 249 from the FY 2026 Senate Transportation-HUD appropriations bill: Sec. 249. (a) Any unobligated balances from amounts made available under the heading, "Community Development Fund"
Budget Fundamentals
Understanding federal spending requires tracking three distinct processes that most people assume are the same thing.