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A budget from the executive branch is just a recommendation. Congress might use use it as a starting point, if they bother to pass a budget at all, which they a

• dragonwriter 4y ago
  > Congress might use use it as a starting point, if they bother to pass a budget at all, which they are not in the habit of doing lately unfortunately. A budget is a budget even if it is neither comprehensive (i.e., all functions in one bill) nor for a full fiscal year at a time nor uses the word “budget” in its title.
  • butlerm 4y ago
    In congressional nomenclature however a budget is a guideline for appropriations bills, not something that carries the force of law. And Congress is quite specific about what it appropriates money for, even if it does it all in a several thousand page bill at the last minute. So a federal agency like the FAA generally prepares a budget recommendation that would be submitted to Congress as part of the president's budget, but then Congress would decide how much (if any) to appropriate for each activity, down to the level of individual programs in many cases. By the time Congress gets done with it becomes a list of appropriations, and the agency has no authority to transfer things around, spend money on what Congress did not authorize, or even purposely refuse to spend money (or spend less without a good reason) on what Congress has appropriated funding for.