By now everyone has heard about Obama’s budget that came out yesterday…a$3.8 trillion package…..some think it is too high (which it is) and some will make political gain out of the opposition to this first budget….no matter what you believe or how you feel about the large budget…..do you know the process unknown as the budget process?

Let me help you out…would not want a mental overload to endanger your viewing capabilitiies for “Dancing With The Stars”….

1. PRESIDENT’S BUDGET REQUEST. After asking federal agencies how much money they need to get their work done, the White House compiles a budget request and submits it to Congress on or before the first Monday in February.

The budget request shows broadly how the president wishes to implement fiscal policy — how much he aims to raise in taxes, how much he wants to spend, and how much the gap between the two will add to the country’s debt.

2. CONGRESS DRAWS UP ITS PLAN

After the budget request is submitted, the House and Senate Budget committees develop their own “budget resolution” — a guide that states how much revenue the government expects to collect and how much it will spend.

Congress is supposed to approve this resolution by April 15, but it often misses that goal. Congress has failed to adopt a resolution at all three times over the past 10 years.

Spending totals are defined in two ways: authority, or how much money a federal agency is authorized to spend, and outlays, or how much that agency will actually spend in the coming year.

3. CUTTING THE CHECKS

After the budget resolution passes, the 12 appropriations subcommittees in each chamber set funding levels for individual government programs and write up detailed instructions for the agencies that oversee them — such as how to divide highway construction money among individual projects.

Lawmakers often insert “earmarks” into these spending bills, which ensure funding for specific projects in their home districts that are not requested by the president.

Earmarks have figured in several corruption scandals in recent years as some lawmakers have used them to steer money to supporters, and reformers often suggest banning them entirely.

Appropriators say earmarks are a necessary part of the process because they build support for the spending bills needed to keep government running and ensure that Congress exerts some control over the massive federal bureaucracy.

Ideally, Congress passes all 12 appropriations bills individually by October 1, the start of the fiscal year.

That’s all, folks!  It is just that simple, as a process goes, but now the fun starts….Congress gets involved……and we all know just how good these ass clowns are at being pathetic…..