Question

what office prepares the federal budget, what process does it follow?

Answer 1

This is the process and time-frame of the federal budget...
To follow the Federal budget process, you need to know that the fiscal year starts on October 1, the year before the calendar year starts. For example, FY 2013 began on October 1 2012, and ran through September 30 2013.

The budget process actually starts a year before the fiscal year does. That means the process for the FY 2013 budget began in 2011.

In the early fall, all Federal agencies submit their budget requests to the Executive Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which prepares and manages the budget for the President.

In November, OMB sends its budget review comments back to the agencies. They submit their final budget requests in December. OMB then assembles the final budget for the following fiscal year, and sends it to the President.

In January, the President outlines his budget priorities in the State of the Union Address. The Council of Economic Advisors also submit the "Economic Report of the President," which analyzes upcoming economic trends.

By the first Monday in February the President submits his budget to Congress .It puts his priorities into dollars and cents for three areas:

Funding levels for Federal agencies.
Changes to Mandatory programs already enacted by Congress. These include Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid,TARP and the Affordable Care Act.
Changes to the tax code. The budget must show the impact on Federal revenue.
Congress uses the President's budget as a base to prepare a Budget Resolution by April 15th. Each house of Congress develops their own budget proposals separately. They base this on hearings held with agency officials, who explain why they need the funds requested. They then meet in a Conference Committee to work out their differences. The final Budget Resolution must approved by majority votes in the House and Senate.

Congress creates spending Appropriation Bills by June 10th. The bills appropriate funds for each agency in the Discretionary budget.They base these bills on more hearings held with the agency officials and outside public testimonies. First, the House Appropriations Subcommittees prepare their bills and pass their bills internally. These bills go to the Senate, which revises and must approve them before they go to the President.

The House must approve all the bills by June 30. However, often the President doesn't get them until September.

The President treats this bill like any other submitted by Congress. The Constitution dictates that he must either approve these bills, veto them (starting the process all over again) or allow them to go forward without his approval within the next 10 days.

All the bills must be signed into law before October 1st, the beginning of the new fiscal year. If this doesn't happen, Congress passes a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep Federal agencies running at their current funding levels until a budget can be passed. If a CR isn't passed, then a government shutdown occurs. That means all non-essential Discretionary programs close, and workers are furloughed without pay.

In addition, the President usually submits a Mid-Session Review of the budget to Congress by July 15.