Public Budgeting in Context

Chapter ThreeBudget Law and History of the US Federal Government

As the United States starts down the road toward third-world budgeting practices, who knows what will happen next?

—Rudolph G. Penner, former director, Congressional Budget Office, 2013

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, you should be able to

• Understand the constitutional foundations for US federal budgeting
• Be familiar with the history of budget law and process of the US federal government
• Explain growth of the US federal government over time
• Distinguish congressional from executive budgeting in the US federal government
• Describe modern budgeting at the federal level of government in the United States
• Find and access data about the US federal budget