Appropriations Committees Develop the 13 Spending Bills

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees now take the total aggregate spending allocations from the Budget Resolution and divide the amount into thirteen "suballocations". Quite literally, they take the total discretionary "money pie" and cut it in to thirteen pieces.

Each slice of the discretionary "pie" funds a different government function as follows:

1. Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies

2. Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies

3. Department of Defense

4. Operations of the government of the District of Columbia

5. Energy and water resources development

6. Foreign operations, export financing, and related programs

7. Homeland Security

8. Department of the Interior and related agencies

9. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies

10. Legislative Branch

11. Military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense

12. Department of Transportation, Treasury, the United States Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and certain Independent Agencies.

13. Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and for sundry independent agencies, boards, commissions, corporations, and offices

The Budget Act allows the Appropriations Committees from May 15 until June 10 to finalize the 13 spending bills and forward them to the full House and Senate.

House and Senate Consider 13 Annual Spending Bills

By June 10, the full House and Senate should begin consideration of the 13 annual spending bills. Other than some special rules of debate, the 13 spending bills follow the same legislative procedure as other bills. Current Status of the FY 2000 Spending Bills

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House and Senate work out differences in Conference