Direct spending
Direct spending is budget authority provided by law other than appropriation acts, entitlement authority, and the food stamp program, as defined by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. [1]\
Direct spending may be temporary or permanent, definite or indefinite (as to amount) but it is an appropriation or other budget authority made available to agencies in an act other than an appropriation act.
Under expired Budget Enforcement Act (BEA) provisions, new direct spending was subject to pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirements.
Permanent spending
Permanent spending, or permanent authority, is budget authority available as the result of previously enacted legislation and is available without further legislative action. For example, authority to retain and use offsetting receipts tends to be permanent authority. Such budget authority can be the result of substantive legislation or appropriation acts.
The rules of the U.S. House of Representatives prohibit consideration of appropriations bills for expenditures not previously authorized by law.[2]
Temporary spending
Temporary spending are items needing a vote from both chambers outside the ordinary budget process, such as wars (like Afghanistan or Iraq), immediate disaster relief assistance (like Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Sandy), and extended unemployment benefits in periods of high unemployment.
Temporary spending maybe for less than one annual budget cycle or extended over several years. Temporary spending is not intended to become a permanent spending obligation of the United States government. Some forms of temporary spending are also referred to as emergency spending, and are usually covered in the supplemental appropriations process.
See also
- ↑ A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process. General Accounting Office. GAO-05-734SP www.gao.gov
- ↑ See Rule XXI, Rules of the House of Representatives. A similar, but more limited provision exists in Rule XVI, Standing Rules of the Senate. (See Point of Order.) Some agency programs or functions are reauthorized every year, while others are authorized for several years or permanently.