H.R. 1 Update: NASUAD Budget Analysis
February 23,2011
On February 14, President Obama submitted to Congress his proposal to fund the federal government for the fiscal year (FY) that begins on October 1, 2011, FY12. Notably, the previous Congress was unable to pass a budget for FY11, and the federal government has been operating under a series of Continuing Resolutions (CRs) since October 1, 2010, when FY11 began. The current funding mechanism (PL 111-322) is slated to expire on March 4, by which point lawmakers must reach an agreement and pass another CR, or risk a government-wide shut down. This looming deadline, in part, prompted Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to consider legislation (HR 1) to fund the government for the remainder of FY11.
On February 19, the House passed this longer-term CR, sending it to the Senate for consideration. Though HR1 is unlikely to clear the Senate, or survive a presidential veto, its proposals are expected to remain relevant as Democrats and Republicans look to reduce funding in areas with bipartisan support, such as the overlapping recommendations contained in both President Obama’s FY12 budget request and HR1. Given the potential for these intersections to signal future reductions, NASUAD has analyzed the spending reductions contained in HR 1, comparing these initiatives, where possible, with the spending reductions proposed by the President in his FY12 budget request. Significantly, though both proposals contain funding reductions, the President’s budget request is for the entirety of FY12, while HR1’s proposals would impact federal spending for a significantly shorter period, the remaining seven months of FY11.
The purpose of this analysis is to both distribute recent developments relating to the ongoing FY11 federal budget cycle, and to highlight anticipated future congressional efforts to reduce spending through the remaining FY11 and upcoming FY12 appropriations processes. Below, please review the supplementary information to NASUAD’s Preliminary Analysis of the President’s FY12 Budget Request, as well as NASUAD’s FY12 Budget Table, which has been updated to incorporate HR1. NASUAD will continue to monitor the FY11 and FY12 federal budget cycles, supplementing this analysis with more detail as additional information becomes available.
NASUAD's Preliminary Analysis of the President's FY12 Budget Request and H.R. 1