Budget Process and Enforcement

Described in the introduction to the Committee on the Budget's Compilation of Laws and Rules Relating to the Congressional Budget Process, the "congressional budget process is a framework of laws and rules that govern the consideration, adoption, and enforcement of spending, revenue, and debt limit legislation each year." Fundamentally, the annual budget establishes limits on spending and debt and makes assumptions about revenue and deficits. The provisions of the Congressional Budget and IMpoundment Control Act of 1974 ("Budget Act"), along with certain House rules, provide the enforcement mechanism to ensure that the Government does not exceed those limits.