Balanced Budget – In governmental accounting terms, a budget in which anticipated or actual total revenues equal anticipated or actual total expenditures. Conversely, an unbalanced budget is one in which expenditures exceed revenues, or vice versa.
Balanced Budget Amendment – A proposal for a constitutional amendment mandating that federal expenditures not exceed federal revenues in any fiscal year.
Baseline – A projection of the levels of federal spending, revenues, and the resulting budgetary surpluses or deficits for the upcoming and subsequent fiscal years, taking into account laws enacted to date and assuming no new policy decisions. It provides a benchmark for measuring the budgetary effects of proposed changes in federal revenues or spending, assuming certain economic conditions. Baseline projections are prepared by the Congressional Budget Office.
Bicameral – Consisting of two houses or chambers. Congress is a bicameral legislature whose two houses have an equal role in enacting legislation.
Bill – Legislative proposal introduced in either chamber (until it has passed by that chamber). Designated H.R. (House of Representatives) or S. (Senate) according to the chamber in which it originates and by a number assigned in the order in which it was introduced. When introduced, a bill is referred to the committee that has jurisdiction over the subject with which the bill is concerned. A bill is also sometimes called a measure.
Bills and Measures Introduced – Members formally present measures to their respective houses by delivering them to a clerk in the chamber when their house is in session. Both houses permit any number of members to join in introducing a bill or resolution. The first member listed on the measure is the sponsor; the other members listed are its cosponsors.
Bills and Measures Referred – After a bill or resolution is introduced, it is normally sent to one or more committees that have jurisdiction over its subject, as defined by House and Senate rules and precedents. Officially, the Speaker refers measures in the House; the president of the Senate or the president pro tempore refers measures in the Senate. In practice, those officers delegate the function to their parliamentarians, intervening only to deal with disputed referrals.
Bipartisan Committee – A committee with an equal number of members from each political party. The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics are the only bipartisan permanent full committees.
Block Grants – Grants to states that can be used for a variety of purposes. Block grants are funded by annual appropriations by Congress and allocated to states by formula. Block grants usually provide considerable flexibility to governors for delivering the services outlined in the block grant.
Budget – Document sent to Congress by the President in January of each year estimating revenues and expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year.
Budget Authority – Authority to enter into obligations that will result in immediate or future outlays involving federal funds. Appropriations bills provide budget authority.
Budget Enforcement Act – Passed in 1990, this Act established caps on discretionary spending in each area of federal spending – defense, domestic, and international. It also prohibited transfers between these categories. These “walls” between spending categories expired after Fiscal Year 1993 and now there is one cap for all discretionary spending.
By Request – A designation indicating that a member has introduced a measure on behalf of the President, an executive agency, or a private individual or organization, but does not necessarily endorse the legislation. Members often introduce such measures as a courtesy because neither the President nor any person other than a member of Congress can do so.