Federal spending runs on a fiscal year that begins October 1. Under 2 U.S.C. 632(a), the Congress "shall complete action on a concurrent resolution on the budget" on or before April 15 of each year for "the fiscal year beginning on October 1 of such year," setting appropriate levels for that year and for "at least each of the 4 ensuing fiscal years" for "totals of new budget authority and outlays," "total Federal revenues," and "the surplus or deficit in the budget."

The guides below unpack each piece of that machinery. This page pulls the pieces together and points at the short answer for the questions the guides answer in depth.

What is the difference between an appropriation and an authorization?

Under House Rule XXI, clause 2(a)(1), an appropriation "may not be reported in a general appropriation bill, and may not be in order as an amendment thereto, for an expenditure not previously authorized by law," except to continue appropriations for public works and objects that are already in progress.

The full guide: How federal appropriations work.

What is a continuing resolution?

Parliamentary annotations of House Rule XXI record that "a joint resolution only containing continuing appropriations for diverse agencies to provide funds until regular appropriation bills are enacted" has been held not to be a "general appropriation bill" for purposes of the rule (Sec. 1044).

The full guide: What a continuing resolution is.

What actually stops during a shutdown?

Under 31 U.S.C. 1341, an officer or employee of the United States Government may not "make or authorize an expenditure or obligation exceeding an amount available in an appropriation or fund for the expenditure or obligation," and may not "involve either government in a contract or obligation for the payment of money before an appropriation is made unless authorized by law." A companion section, 31 U.S.C. 1342, provides that such an officer or employee "may not accept voluntary services for either government or employ personal services exceeding that authorized by law except for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property," and expressly says that emergency exception "does not include ongoing, regular functions of government the suspension of which would not imminently threaten the safety of human life or the protection of property."

When appropriations resume, 31 U.S.C. 1341(c)(2) requires that each employee furloughed as a result of a covered lapse in appropriations "shall be paid for the period of the lapse in appropriations," and each excepted employee required to perform work during the lapse "shall be paid for such work," at the employee's standard rate of pay, "at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends."

The full guide: What happens during a government shutdown.

What is reconciliation, and what limits it?

Under 2 U.S.C. 641(a), a concurrent resolution on the budget can specify totals by which new budget authority, revenues, or "the statutory limit on the public debt" are to be changed, and direct the committees having jurisdiction to "determine and recommend changes" to accomplish those totals. Senate debate on any reconciliation bill "shall be limited to not more than 20 hours" (2 U.S.C. 641(e)(2)).

Under 2 U.S.C. 644, on a point of order by any Senator against "material extraneous to the instructions to a committee," if the point of order is "sustained by the Chair," the offending part of the bill "shall be deemed stricken from the bill and may not be offered as an amendment from the floor." The definition at 644(b)(1) includes a provision that "produces changes in outlays or revenues which are merely incidental to the non-budgetary components of the provision," and a provision that increases net outlays or decreases revenues in a fiscal year after those covered by the reconciliation bill or resolution "and such increases or decreases are greater than outlay reductions or revenue increases resulting from other provisions in such title in such year."

The full guide: What budget reconciliation is.

Who scores what a bill costs?

Under 2 U.S.C. 601, there is "an office of the Congress to be known as the Congressional Budget Office." Its Director is "appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate after considering recommendations received from the Committees on the Budget of the House and the Senate, without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of his fitness to perform his duties." At 601(a)(3), "The term of office of the Director shall be 4 years." Under 2 U.S.C. 601(d), the Director is authorized "to secure information, data, estimates, and statistics directly from the various departments, agencies, and establishments of the executive branch of Government and the regulatory agencies and commissions of the Government," which "shall furnish the Director any available material which he determines to be necessary."

Under 2 U.S.C. 601(f): "For the purposes of revenue legislation which is income, estate and gift, excise, and payroll taxes (i.e., Social Security), considered or enacted in any session of Congress, the Congressional Budget Office shall use exclusively during that session of Congress revenue estimates provided to it by the Joint Committee on Taxation."

The full guide: What the Congressional Budget Office does.

For how these rules meet the rest of the Capitol — how a bill gets to the floor, how the Senate handles debate, and how a vote is recorded — see the companion hub, How Congress passes laws. Every appropriations bill this site currently tracks is listed further down this page.

Guides

Explainer
How Federal Appropriations Work: The 12 Bills Congress Rarely Passes on Time
The federal government is funded through 12 annual appropriations bills. Congress has passed all 12 on time exactly once in the last thirty years. Here's how the process is supposed to work.
Explainer · Updated July 2026
What Is a Continuing Resolution? Why the Government Runs on Temporary Funding
A continuing resolution temporarily funds the government when regular appropriations haven't passed. Here's how CRs work and why they've become the default mode of federal budgeting.
Explainer
What Happens During a Government Shutdown?
A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass appropriations legislation before funding lapses. Here's what shuts down, what stays open, and how they end.
Explainer · Updated July 2026
What Is Budget Reconciliation? The Senate's 51-Vote Path Explained
Budget reconciliation allows the Senate to pass fiscal legislation with 51 votes instead of 60, bypassing the filibuster. Here's how it works and what its limits are.
Explainer · Updated July 2026
Impoundment and Rescission: When Money Doesn't Get Spent
The Impoundment Control Act sets the rules for when the executive can withhold appropriated funds — rescissions, deferrals, the 45-day clock, the GAO's role, and the disputed pocket rescission.
Explainer
What Is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and What Does It Do?
The CBO is Congress's nonpartisan scorekeeper for legislation — it estimates what bills cost and how they affect the deficit. Here's how to read a CBO score.
Bill Analysis · FY2026
The 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act: What Actually Changed
H.R. 7148, signed February 3, 2026, funded the federal government through September 30, 2026. Beyond the headline dollar figures — what the bill actually contained.

Tracked bills (15)

Related topic hub: How Congress Passes Laws: Procedure, Explained

This hub page is generated from LegislationPatch's tracked corpus — the guides and bill analyses it links to carry their own sources. See our editorial standards and AI disclosure.