ABSTRACT

What do nude beaches and catfish have to do with the federal budget? Quite a bit, it turns out. Working the Federal Budget fills the need for an unvarnished, readable guide to how the federal government collects money and spends it. Centuries of political struggles over the size and funding of government have produced a dense set of budget-related laws, procedures, court decisions and outright improvisations. The resulting rules are legion, complex, and remain a secret to many. In this book, author George D. Krumbhaar unravels the complexity with a journalist’s eye for clarity and a lawyer’s eye for detail, explaining the system, plainly laying out the laws that lie behind it, and identifying the players that are central to decision making at various stages in the process.

With chapters covering the grandiose (why we have such big deficits) and the picayune (PAYGO and its importance) in fascinating and often entertaining detail, Working the Federal Budget provides an invaluable and critical exploration of the who, the what, and the why of the budget process for readers with an interest in government relations and how the government functions—whether from Capitol Hill, the executive branch, "K Street," postgraduate studies or even civic concern.

chapter 1|6 pages

Before We Even Get Started

Yes, the Federal Budget is Different from Yours and Mine, and it Faces Big Challenges

chapter 2|14 pages

Power, the Constitution, Congress, and the Federal System of Government

To Understand the Budget of Today, it Helps to Go Back about 200 Years

chapter 3|14 pages

Getting a Handle on the Budget: Why it has Taken So Long with Still So Far to Go

From the Constitution to the Budget Act in One Chapter

chapter 4|11 pages

Budget Concepts: The Basics

Technical Stuff You Simply Have to Know

chapter 5|16 pages

Budget Concepts: The Linear Approach

Different Rules for Different Stages in the Process

chapter 6|12 pages

Budget Concepts: The Cross-cutting Approach

Slicing and Dicing the Budget in Different Ways, to Highlight Important Policy Issues

chapter 7|41 pages

The Budget and Appropriations Cycle

What Happens, and When—Including an Appendix: How to Read the Federal Budget

chapter 8|20 pages

Anatomy of an Appropriations Bill

Picking through the Ingredients and Tasting the Results

chapter 9|19 pages

Taxes and Tax Policy

In some Ways just Another Form of Spending

chapter 10|12 pages

Federal Credit and Insurance Programs

Additional Policy Levers for Achieving Budget Goals

chapter 11|10 pages

The Budget and the Economy

Each Affects the Other

chapter 12|22 pages

The Budget and Government Performance

Will Making the Government more Efficient Save Lots of Money?

chapter 13|15 pages

Federalism and the Budget

Washington and the States: the $1 Trillion Puzzle