The following article by Lisette Partelow, Meg Benner, Michael Dannenberg and Charles Barone was posted on the Center for American Progress website October 26, 2017:
Introduction
After a bruising fight over federal funding for fiscal year 2017 in March and April, Congress has spent the past several months deciding how to fund the government for the upcoming fiscal year. Budget negotiations started in May when the Trump administration released a proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 that included draconian cuts to domestic spending.1 Under regular order—which has lately become atypical—this would be the start of a budget and appropriations process beginning with the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate budget committees developing budget resolutions. The budget resolutions contain top-line spending numbers and reconciliation instructions and provide a blueprint for the authorizing and appropriations committees, which are responsible for deciding the details of how money is spent across federal programs.2
As has become common in recent years, this year’s budget process has broken down.3As a result, the appropriations committees began developing their FY 2018 bills before budget resolutions were passed.4 Because there are so many different proposals currently underway, this paper will focus primarily on Trump’s budget request as an indicator of what the administration’s priorities are and on the House and Senate appropriations bills as an indicator of how Congress intends to allocate federal funding. The House and Senate budget proposals are discussed where appropriate, such as in the context of mandatory programs or reconciliation instructions related to tax reform. Continue reading “Trickle-Down Cuts to Education”