The primary responsibility of the Budget Committee is the drafting and preparation of the
Concurrent Resolution on the Budget, commonly referred to as the "
budget resolution". This resolution sets the aggregate levels of revenue and spending that is expected to occur in a given
fiscal year. A budget resolution by law must be enacted by Congress by April 15. This target date is rarely met, and in at least four years (FY1999, FY2003, FY2005, and FY2007) no budget resolution was ultimately adopted. This resolution also gives to each committee of the House an "allocation" of "new budget authority". This allocation is important in the consideration of legislation on the floor of the House. If a bill comes to the floor to be considered and it causes an increase in spending above this allocation, it is subject to a point of order (under 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act). This is true for discretionary spending (spending that is provided to the Federal Government each year) and mandatory spending (spending such as entitlements where a beneficiary class is defined and a benefit is provided). If an entitlement is expanded and it has not been budgeted for in the budget resolution, it is subject to a point of order on the floor and, if not waived, will prevent it from being called up for consideration (if a Member of Congress stands before the body and makes the
point of order). In general, legislation is cleared of such problems prior to consideration through discussions between the House Parliamentarian, the House Leadership, and the House Budget Committee. The committee holds hearings on federal budget legislation and congressional resolutions related to the
federal budget process. The committee holds hearings on the
president's annual budget request to
Congress and drafts the annual Congressional Budget Resolution, which sets overall spending guidelines for Congress as it develops the
annual federal appropriations bills. The committee also reviews supplemental budget requests submitted by the president, which cover items which for one reason or another were not included in the original budget request, usually for emergency spending. Recently, emergency budget supplementals have been used to request funding for the wars in
Iraq and
Afghanistan as well as for disaster recovery after
Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita. The committee may
amend, approve, or
table budget-related bills. It also has the power to enforce established federal budget rules, hold budget-related investigations, and
subpoena witnesses. Additionally, the committee has oversight of the
Congressional Budget Office. ==Rules of the committee==