Is Congress Crazy? And Other Important Questions
A WashingtonWatch.com user and subscriber to the email list wrote in and asked the following questions:
Hello — I am a total “newbie” to your site — but I am trying hard to become educated about what goes on in Congress — my question is: every week I receive your updates listing these various bills and their associated cost per family (thank you very much) — are these costs in addition to the “budget”? or have these costs per family already been included in the “budget” — if it is all new spending, how is this possible? Are these people crazy? Where will the money to pay for these things come from?
These are good questions. The workings of Washington, D.C. are pretty obscure to normal people out there in the real world. So, in case it helps others, here is the response I sent:
There are basically two types of bills, authorizations and appropriations.
Authorization bills create programs or allow existing programs to continue. Every year or every few years, Congress reauthorizes programs and agencies that are already in place. These bills say that agencies and programs can do what they do, and how they can do it.
So this week, for example, the Senate is debating the National Defense Authorization Act, which will tell the Department of Defense to keep on defending. We don’t have the amount of spending that bill authorizes yet, but you’ve seen those numbers before.
Appropriations bills cause the actual spending to happen – they say that money can come out of the U.S. Treasury to pay the salaries, buy the pencils, pay the contractors, etc. The Defense Appropriations bill will actually spend the money on defending the country. (The Defense approps bills for FY 2010 haven’t been introduced yet.)
Before the appropriations bills get moving each year, Congress passes a budget. The budget sets the total amount it is supposed to spend in all twelve appropriations bills. The budget isn’t a spending bill – it’s a planning document. We give it an estimate and follow it on the site because budget-setting is an important step in the process.
As we emphasize on the “about” page, you can’t add up these different kinds of bills to get a reliable number indicating what Congress is spending.
You can get a rough sense of what Congress is spending in fiscal year 2010, which starts October 1, on the FY 2010 Spending Tracker page. The authorization bills show how much Congress is proposing to spend over several years by starting or continuing programs.
So there may not be as much spending as it looks like – but, yes! They’re crazy! There aren’t enough tax revenues to pay for all the stuff the government is doing, and it’s going to the national debt.
Reshard Ali
Shockwave222@live.com
To Mr. President,
I am sending this letter with the hope that your staff and aides have the good sense to forward it to you. I know that being the President in such a trying time is probably not easy. You are passing stimulus and bailing out companies with billions of dollars but it still have not made a good enough impact. What if I told you that I can help you become one of the greatest Presidents to ever sit in the White House, would you listen? You have already made history by being one of the 1st non-white people to hold office, because of this you and I both know that all eyes are on you. When your term is up and it’s time for re-election are they going to still be behind you? They will if you affect change. If you are willing to listen to me I know that I can help you with the economy. I have a very simple but effect solution. All I need is five minutes of your time and an open mind. So please contact me so we can get the ball rolling.
I will add this to anyone else who might read this. If this letter is not forwarded to the President or the 1st lady for their personal review by 7-14-09 I will take matters into my own hands and contact every radio station and newspaper from the east to west coast, I will book every talk show or radio program and let everyone know that I am trying to help the President fix the economy and the White house aides and staff are not forwarding the messages. This like I said is not a joke, peoples well being is not something to play with. Mr. President you want to be remembered not only for your skin color but also your actions. Please contact me on the above information; I will be waiting on your call or invitation to meet. Remember 7-14-09 and then I start my own tactics to get a hold of the President.
Thank You.
Reshard Ali.
People Helping People.
This is not a joke. The reason why I have turned to you is because my attempts through the White House aides and staff have been less than successful. I have e-mail, faxed and sent by US mail a letter to the President asking him to please contact me or even have the First lady contact me so I can discuss with them the simple yet effect solution that can help start turning the economy around and help our President be remembered not only for his skin color but for his action in the White House as well. The only reason I want to discuss this with the President or First Lady and no one else is because my idea is so simple but effective that I do not want anyone else taking credit for it. I was the President / Owner of my own million dollar company at a very young age. I have worked on Wall Street and done Business Development for the car industry so I have the background. I know that what I propose will help and make and impact. I am doing this not because I want fame and fortune, I am doing this because I am tired of seeing one of the greatest counties in the world and its people suffer on a daily basis. When in need we have no one to turn to but each other, so hopefully you can help me get a meeting with the President and your life will change because of it.
Mr. Anonymous
Mr. Ali,
Before you purport to have the solutions to America’s problems, perhaps you should worry about your own:
http://www.sheriffguadagno.com/index.php?mod=Foreclosures&start=200&colsort=s_file