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The Federal Budget Process

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A big part of today’s government and it being successful has to do with the having a proper budget. A budget is a plan for the accomplishment of programs related to objectives. The budget is a key document which translate our policies into a fiscal document. Like most things in government the budget process in its early stages started off with a lot of errors and things that needed to be fixed. Throughout the years there have been key policies and laws that have made contributions to the development of the federal budget process. These are the main laws and policies that have made contributions for the betterment of the federal budget process; the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Control Act of 1985, the …show more content…
Before the Budgeting & Accounting Act (BAA) of 1921, no one government body managed the whole budget. Branches submitted applications to Congress. After World War I, Congress members wanted more control over government expenses after seeing how going to war was hard on the economy and raised the national debt. The act keeps either branches from having more power than the other. The BAA of 1921 holds the president accountable for the budget and requires the president justifies the budget. The act requires the President to submit a budget to Congress every year by the first Monday of February. Whatever party has control over congress usually dictate what programs congress will approve to receive federal aid. Both parties use this to their advantage to push their agenda. This act is also responsible for the creation of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) which gives congress the right to audit government branches. The GAO was initially called the General Accounting Office. This office tells the house and the senate what it might have to cut in the

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