CMC Congress Course: Congress and Economic Policy

For Thursday, Thurber, ch. 11

Constitutional Provisions

All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.”
— U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 7, clause 1

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

-- U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 8, clause 12

“No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.”
— U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 9, clause 7

What follows would baffle a Martian.

Authorization

Reauthorization as a form of oversight
Lapsed authorizations:

Appropriation

Also a form of oversight

Budget Authority
Outlay
Continuing resolutions

"The Budget Process" and key documents:

Revenue Bills and RECONCILIATION (Davidson 429-430)

Revenues -- Where the money comes from:

Revenues, by Category

Percentage of Gross Domestic Product

The federal tax system is more progressive than most people realize:

Average Federal Tax Rates, by Income Group, 1979 to 2019

Average Federal Tax Rates, by Tax Source, 2019

Percent

Tax expenditures

Outlays -- Where the money goes:

Outlays, by Category

Percentage of GDP

CBPP

New @AP poll neatly captures the paradox of budget politics. Americans say abstractly the government should cut spending, but show them the list of things it actually spends money on and they say nice, spend more on that.https://t.co/lSYaIJjxYY pic.twitter.com/2J9J5fbLwe
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 29, 2023