Please explain the budget-procedures to a foreigner

[DetlefK]

What exactly would be the normal procedure for a continuing resolution or budget in general?
As far as I understood it, the House passes a budget, then the Senate passes a different budget, then a conference is created to mix them. What would be next?

On the other hand, I have heard, that Boehner could already hold a vote on the Senate's CR (implying that the conference is skipped) and end this with democratic and moderate republican votes. Is that correct?
If yes, could the House democrats force the House to hold a vote on this clean CR with a discharge-petition (whatever that is)?

[DURHAM D]

1. The House has refused to go to conference on the budget 18 times

over the past months.

The CR is a time limited resolution that just allows the government to keep functioning for awhile.

During the next six weeks the House and Senate need to meet and come to a budget agreement but I doubt that will happen because the House Republicans don't want a budget as they like the sequestration mess better.

[Violet_Crumble]

2. How long do normal budget agreements last for?

I don't understand the conference thing. How it works here is a supply bill will pass through the lower and upper houses and I think it lasts for a year. And apart from back in 1975, which unleashed a shitstorm and a constitutional crisis, they always sail through, because there's an unwritten convention that you do not fuck around with supply bills. I don't understand why it doesn't work that way in the US. It does seem to me that the Republicans aren't interested in keeping a functioning democracy functioning

[DURHAM D]

3. The budget agreements last for one fiscal year.

Today is the beginning of the 2014 budget year.

The appropriations agreements should have been reached back during the first or second quarter of 2013 and sent to the WH for signature and given that did not happen we need a simple and clean Resolution to just keep things going for awhile until the House and Senate reach an agreement via conference committee.

You are right - the Republicans are trying to KILL the government. As best I can tell they have no idea what they want to replace it with and they will not settle down until that black man is out of the WH and perhaps not even then.

The current congressional districts were drawn by each state government after the 2010 census and across the country Republicans held enough state legislatures to rig the system for their party. The makeup of the US House therefore can not be changed until after the 2020 census and if Democrats don't get organized in each state and take over some state legislatures and governor's seats the US House will remain in Republican control until the end of time.

[baldguy]

4. The Republicans lost in 2012 and they want to overturn the election.

That's what it's really all about. The budget "crisis" is just the wrapping paper.

[roamer65]

5. That is the core issue. They are trying to subvert the will of the people.

[1-Old-Man]

6. OK, here is what's happening ....

Normally a bill to fund the Government would originate in the House. That bill would be voted on and agreed to by the Representatives and then it would be sent over to the Senate. The Senate would then take up the bill and they might decide to accept it as is or they might decide to amend it. If they make no changes and vote the bill up the bill would then go to the President to be signed into law. However if the Senate made changes they would then send it back to the house. In the House they would again take up the bill and might accept the Senate Changes or they might decide to send the Bill to Conference. Conference is just a term to say that a couple of negotiators from the House and a couple from the Senate would get together and look at the two different versions of the Bill and negotiate a single bill acceptable to both sides. With such a hybrid bill negotiated it would then be taken back to each body where it would be voted on and if it passed on both sides it would go to the President for enactment.

[DetlefK]

7. Thanks.

[hootinholler]

9. Keep in mind that that dance applies to any bill

Not just funding bills.

A continuing resolution is a bill that basically says keep going on last years budget until we get next years budget sorted out or the resolution expires if it has an expiration date.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. "What exactly would be the normal procedure..."

1.) The President presents a document with recommendations for funding of the various agencies in the Executive Branch (with justifications) to Congress for a fiscal year.
2.) Each chamber (House and Senate) assigns the various program portions of the document to the related Committees for discussion, including testimony by the agency heads and other stakeholders, and members begin markup of the budget and appropriations legislation.
3.) Since both chambers normally have different versions, they appoint a Conference Committee to agree to a consolidated version and present the Conference Report to their chambers for a vote.
4.) Assuming this is completed, the same happens with each Appropriations bill (for each Department or unaffiliated agency) and each of these must be voted on and reconciled between chambers - although more often than not, these are rolled into one or more "Omnibus" Appropriations bills that contain funding authority for multiple Depatments/agencies.
5.) Since the power of the purse rests with the House, any final funding must be shown to "originate" from the House, so something developed and passed by the Senate initially, is attached to an unrelated, House-originated piece of legislation, in order to meet the criteria.
6.) Once everything is passed by both chambers, it is sent to the President for signature.

This year, the Senate completed all of the Appropriation bills and asked for a Conference with the House and they refused.

[Paulie]

11. Just a point of clarification to add

With all this talk about passing a budget. The Budget isn't a binding document. It's an outline of spending priorities. The 12 appropriation bills which fund the 12 departments of the government are binding in law.

Though with the sequester a budget bill became law, that is actually an anomaly.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

10. If this were a normal year

Note: This is a very (very) summary version

Long about last September the President directed the cabinet level agencies to put together their proposed budget for FY 2013. This discussion goes on internally for several months, resulting in the President's budget proposal, which gets submitted to Congress in February -- after the State of the Union Address, where the President typically previews his budget priorities for the year.

During the March-April timeframe, the President's budget is revised by both the House and Senate committees, which vote to create separate versions of the budget. There's a lot of back-and-forth between the budget committee and other House and Senate committees with budgetary authority. You know that line about two things you never want to watch being made, laws and sausages? Yep. This.

In subsequent joint committee meeting(s), the House and Senate reconcile their two versions to create a concurrent budget resolution. This is typically done by mid-April. Because it's a concurrent resolution, this budget doesn't require the President's signature.

Then the fun begins.

Appropriations Committees in the House crafts 12 appropriations bills (Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, etc.) which are voted on by the House and Senate and are then forwarded to the President for his signature. This funding -- that which goes through the appropriations process -- is for discretionary spending. Mandatory and entitlement spending goes through Authorizing Committees, where the amounts to be spent are stipulated by prior legislation. Any changes to this funding requires a change to the underlying law.

As I said, this is a very summary version of the process.