There are two distinct steps to creating and funding programs and agencies in the federal budget. Most programs must be established through legislation AND funded through the appropriations process. The exception is entitlement programs, which are created and then essentially run on automatic pilot.

Here are the two steps:

Authorization: Congress and the president establish programs through the authorization process.

Congressional committees with jurisdiction over specific subject areas write the legislation. The term “authorization” is used because this type of legislation authorizes the expenditure of funds from the federal budget. It may specify how much money should be spent on a program, but it does NOT actually set aside the money. Many programs are authorized for a specific amount of time. The committees are supposed to review the programs before their expiration to determine how well they are working. For instance, the “No Child Left Behind” education bill that passed during the George W. Bush administration was an authorization bill that established a number of programs to improve the nation’s schools. It did not, however, say the federal government will definitely spend money on the programs.

That occurs through the appropriations process.

Appropriations: In appropriations bills, Congress and the president state the amount of money that will be spent on federal programs during the next fiscal year.

There are 12 appropriations subcommittees in each house of Congress. They are divided among broad subject areas and each writes (or is supposed to write) an annual appropriations measure. For instance, critics of the “No Child Left Behind” bill discussed above say that while Congress and the Bush administration created programs in the authorization process, they never have been adequately funded in the appropriations process. It is quite possible to have programs authorized but not funded.

Problems: There are a couple of problems with this process.

First, Congress has failed to review and reauthorize many programs. However, Congress has not let those programs expire. The House and Senate simply waive their rules and set aside money for the programs anyway.

Second, the difference between authorizations and appropriations confuses most voters. Most people assume that if a program is passed it is also funded. Politicians can tell voters that they voted for a program, and neglect to tell the voters that they voted against funding for it.