Government revenue and outlays vary significantly throughout a fiscal year. For example, the US government is currently operating under a continuing resolution

Government revenue and outlays vary significantly throughout a fiscal year. For example, the US government is currently operating under a continuing resolution since October 1, 2021. A continuing resolution is a legally binding act that freezes budgets to the levels of the previous fiscal year. If an appropriations bill is adopted in the next few weeks, government departments will start acting on their budget authorities set forth in the already passed Authorization Acts. The Defense Department is poised to spend $60 billion more in FY22 than in FY21. Expect the temporary budget surplus to decrease when (if?) an appropriations bill is passed. If an appropriations bill is not passed, Congress could pass another CR for the rest of the fiscal year. If neither a budget nor a CR is passed, a government shutdown happens. It doesn't happen often, but it happens more often than it should, which is never. The federal budget process of the United States is unnecessarily complicated. Congress basically has to pass the budget twice: first in an authorization bill, and second in an appropriations bill. An authorization bill is an act laying out the various spending authorities of the government for the fiscal year. But it doesn't grant the government the right to withdraw funds from the Treasury Department. An appropriations bill is that. Authorization acts are like your parents giving you a list of products they want you to purchase at the grocery store. An appropriations bill is the actual money to buy the products with.