"Where does my tax money go?" "What was the 'One Big Beautiful Bill?'" "Why are there both a House Budget Committee and a House Appropriations Committee?" "What is the difference between entitlements and the discretionary budget?" "How can the federal government shut down?" These are just some of the questions that will be answered in this presentation focusing on researching the legislative history and agency appropriations in the annual federal budget appropriations process under the Congressional Budget Act. It provides a review of the annual discretionary and reconciliation appropriations procedures in Congress. It also focuses on resources for conducting legislative history research into appropriations bills and omnibus legislation, including annual appropriation status tables provided by the Congressional Research Service on Congress.gov. We will also look at resources for examining the President's budget proposal, agency justifications for the budget, and tools to track members' earmarks.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Reference librarians and researchers at any experience level and library type doing legislative or federal government research; anyone interested in learning the process of how the federal government funds its agencies and programs. Participants are expected to have a familiarity with the basic concepts and terminology used in U.S. federal legislative history as well as some exposure to Congress.gov.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. Participants will gain an overview of the federal budget process, including discretionary and reconciliation procedures under the Congressional Budget Act, the roles of Congress, federal agencies, and the White House Office of Management and Budget, and how mandatory and discretionary spending are negotiated and enacted.
2. Participants will learn to use at least three free resources to track the President’s budget, agency congressional justifications, and appropriations bills and resolutions. 
3. Participants will be able to track members of Congress's budget earmarks using three free resources for tracking their requests and the actual allocation and spending of those requests.

SPEAKER:

• Olivia Kane-Cruz, Law Library of Congress

COORDINATOR/SPEAKER:

• Jason Zarin, Law Library of Congress

AALL BODY OF KNOWLEDGE DOMAINS: Research + Analysis

CANCELLATION AND OTHER POLICIES:

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