Budget Resolution - Structure of The Budget

Structure of The Budget

Fundamentally, the budget resolution is structured along 20 budget functions, or categories of spending. Functional categories often cut across agency lines. For example, the National Defense function includes certain Department of Energy programs as well as Department of Defense programs. Functions are further subdivided into "subfunctions." In addition, though these functions and subfunctions are included in a budget resolution, which determines how Congress considers budget related legislation, they have little correspondence to any committee jurisdictions. Functions are, however, useful in understanding the placement of any given account in the federal government: Each account number has a series of numbers, the last three will indicate the function and subfunction; for example an account ending in "051" will indicate function 050 (Defense) and subfunction 051, which indicates a type of spending within the Defense category.

A listing of the budget functions can be found below.

Function Title FY 20051 ($ million)
050 National Defense 423,098
150 International Affairs 29,569
250 General Science, Space and Technology 24,459
270 Energy 1,883
300 Natural Resources and Environment 30,286
350 Agriculture 22,353
370 Commerce and Housing Credit 8,092
400 Transportation 69,494
450 Community and Regional Development 12,949
500 Education, Training, Employment and Social Services 91,817
550 Health 248,780
570 Medicare 293,574
600 Income Security 342,324
650 Social Security 516,457
700 Veterans Benefits and Services 65,444
750 Administration of Justice 40,781
800 General Government 19,392
900 Net Interest 177,909
920 Allowances (798)
950 Undistributed Offsetting Receipts (63,108)
Total: 2,354,755

In addition to these functions, during the 110th Congress, in S. Con. Res. 21 and S. Con. Res 70, an additional function was included: Function 970, indicating spending on the global war on terrorism (Overseas Deployments and Other Activities (970)).

Read more about this topic:  Budget Resolution

Famous quotes containing the words structure of, structure and/or budget:

    A special feature of the structure of our book is the monstrous but perfectly organic part that eavesdropping plays in it.
    Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)

    The structure was designed by an old sea captain who believed that the world would end in a flood. He built a home in the traditional shape of the Ark, inverted, with the roof forming the hull of the proposed vessel. The builder expected that the deluge would cause the house to topple and then reverse itself, floating away on its roof until it should land on some new Ararat.
    —For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    A budget takes the fun out of money.
    Mason Cooley (b. 1927)