Chapter 13 - The Budget

AP Government and Politics - Unit 4 Vocab

Budget

a policy document allocating taxes and expenditures

Expenditures

government spending (Defense/Social Services

Revenues

financial resources of the government (Social Security/Income tax)

Income Tax

shares of individual wages and corporate revenues collected by the government (16 AMENDMENT)

Sixteenth (16) Amendment

amendment that allows Congress to tax

Deficit

excess of federal expenditures over federal revenues

National Debt

all the money borrowed by the federal government that hasn't been paid back

Tax Expenditures

revenue losses that come because of special exemptions, exclusions, or deductions allowed by the federal tax law

Social Security Act

law meant to provide minimum level of sustenance to older Americans to save them from poverty

Medicare

program that provides medical insurance for the elderly

Incrementalism

This years budget = last years budget + a little

Uncontrollable expenditures

expenditures determined by how many people benefit from a program

Entitlements

congress obligates itself to pay for X level of benefits for y number of recipients

House Ways and Means Committee

House of Representatives + Senate Finance Committee write tax codes for Congress to approve

Senate Finance Committee

Senate Finance Committee + House of Representatives write tax codes for Congress to approve

Congressional Budget Office

advises Congress on probable consequences for its decisions on forecast revenues and counterweight for presidents OMB

Budget Resolution

resolution which binds Congress to a total expenditure level

Reconciliation

Process where program authorizations are revised to save more

Authorization Bill

changes a discretionary government program or entitlement

Appropriations bill

funds programs within limits established by authorization bills (Up to 1 year)

Continuing resolutions

when Congress can’t reach agreements, they allow agencies to spend at levels of the previous year.