ABSTRACT

The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is historic legislation that created new congressional mechanisms to set fiscal policy and budget priorities. Budget reform is not new to Congress. In 1909, President Taft requested funds from Congress to "inquire into the methods of transacting the public business." Congress granted the request, and the president appointed the Commission on Economy and Efficiency. Despite overwhelming agreement that reform was needed in congressional fiscal decision making, the formulation and enactment of the Budget Act covered a period of more than two years. After legislation was introduced in early 1973, several versions of the act were debated, altered, and finally accepted by both bodies of Congress in June 1974. Congress must complete action on a Second Concurrent Resolution in September. By the first of April each year, it prepares a report on alternative budget levels, fiscal policy, tax expenditures, national budget priorities, and alternative functional allocations of outlays and budget authority.