Table of Contents
Question 1
The President’s budget request, which kicks off the budget, plays several roles. The first role includes making known to the congress the President’s recommendation for the fiscal policy. The president’s request also lays down the amount of money that should be spent on public purposes by Congress. The President’s request also tells what the federal government should take as revenues from taxation. The budget request also plays the role of laying out the President’s priorities for programs in the federal government. The President’s budget request also sets out the recommendations of the president based on policies regarding tax and spending (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2011).
Question 2
The first step includes the congressional budget resolution after receiving the budget request from the president. This step involves the holding of hearings by congress with the ultimate aim of questioning officials of administration about the requests they have made. The Senate and House Budget Committees in the Congress also enforce and draft the budget resolution. The budget resolution is passed through a majority vote (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2011).
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Question 3
The terms budget authority and outlays are used to define spending; the two terms have different meanings. Budget authority refers to the amount of money, which Congress allows a federal agency to commit for expenditures. On the other hand, outlays refer to the amount of money, which flow from the federal treasury in a certain year. Budget authority stands for the limit of the amount of funding, which will be provided by Congress. On the contrary, outlays can be regarded as a representation of the actual cash flow (Gibbler, 2006).
Question 4
Authorizing legislation refers to a provision in the budget, which alters the guidelines for a federal program or sets a limit on how much money can be set aside for such a program. The impact of authorizing legislation on the budget includes making changes on a program, which deals with entitlement. For example, it has an impact on the budget is it alters such programs as Medicare and Social Security. Unless it affects such programs, authorizing legislation may not have an impact on the budget (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2011).
Question 5
A point of order implies that a member of the Senate can reject legislation, which is contrary to the terms of the budget. After a point of the order is passed, all the legislation exceeding the amount a committee is allocated can be rejected by the House (Schick, 2007).
Question 6
In Arizona, the governor can be regarded as the key budget making authority in the state. At the beginning of the budget making process, the governor receives spending plans from the heads of departments. At the end of the budget making process, the role of the governor includes sending proposals to the legislature (Berman & Borns, 2010).
Question 7
Based on the report, the legislature has more powers than the governor when it comes to directing spending in the state. For example, it is the legislature that trims and cuts down the expenditures of the state. The legislature is also mandated to analyze the budgetary recommendations from the governor and make budgets for each of the agencies (Berman & Borns, 2010).
Question 8
Budget forecasting in Arizona can be regarded as an example of political forecasting based on a number of reasons. For example, during the preparation of the 2010 budget, the governor called for a public vote on the increase of sales tax by three years. There is also varying degrees of involvement by the Democrats, as well as Republicans, in the budget making process; this indicates that the process is politicized. For example, the report details that the Republicans were not willing to work with the governor in the past (Berman & Borns, 2010).
Question 9
Political feasibility has had an impact on revenue options in Arizona in a number of ways. Some changes in the revenue options require approval from the legislature and rigorous political processes. For example, there is The Voter Protection Act passed in 1998, which requires a vote comprising of three-fourths of members in order to effect any changes, which the voters have approved. At the end of it all, the legislature seems to have more powers in determining the sources of revenue. This is informed by the fact that the legislature scrutinizes the budget propositions from the governor and makes decisions based on what the governor has proposed (Berman & Borns, 2010).