The only deadlines Congress makes, are the deadlines for the start of their vacations

The White House submits their budget the first Monday of EVERY February

Appropriations Committees then develop the 13 Spending Bills

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees now take the total aggregate spending allocations from the Budget Resolution and divide the amount into thirteen "suballocations". Quite literally, they take the total discretionary "money pie" and cut it in to thirteen pieces.

Each slice of the discretionary "pie" funds a different government function as follows:

1. Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies

2. Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies

3. Department of Defense

4. Operations of the government of the District of Columbia

5. Energy and water resources development

6. Foreign operations, export financing, and related programs

7. Homeland Security

8. Department of the Interior and related agencies

9. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies

10. Legislative Branch

11. Military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure for the Department of Defense

12. Department of Transportation, Treasury, the United States Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and certain Independent Agencies.

13. Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and for sundry independent agencies, boards, commissions, corporations, and offices

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The Budget Act allows the Appropriations Committees from May 15 until June 10 to finalize the 13 spending bills and forward them to the full House and Senate.

House and Senate Consider 13 Annual Spending Bills

By June 10, the full House and Senate should begin consideration of the 13 annual spending bills. Other than some special rules of debate, the 13 spending bills follow the same legislative procedure as other bills.

US fiscal year ENDS every September 30.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa101799b.htm

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Since the budget affects EVERY other bit of legislation the congress should spend EVERY bit of their time, getting the budget DONE and on the president's desk, BEFORE any other legislation for "new" stuff is even considered.

Each "committee" should have to adhere to a strict schedule, and NO VACATIONS/RECESSES/TIME OFF FOR CAMPAIGNING should be allowed until their "work" is done.

It's very disingenuous to gripe about how other people are not getting their work done, when you have not gotten YOUR work done.

The budget should be on the president's desk EARLY, so that if HE/SHE wants to veto it, at least the congress could claim, rightfully, that they did their due diligence, and then they should send it BACK..over and over and over..

They should also DEMAND that war-spending be part of the budget, and finally put an end to the "supplemental" nonsense.

Until congress takes back its power, it will never have it again.

You cannot wring your hands and complain that the president is being a big-ole-meanie, and then go off on a two week Easter recess or 4th of July recess or Memorial Day..

If you were an accountant who had to prepare regular audits and a budget, how long would YOU have your job, if you just dumped a box full of disorganized papers on your boss' desk... 3 months after the deadline..?

the republicans did. Hell no...and they own't either. The democrats are the ones they slam. But then when you sit still and take it all, no body is gonna know.

was "OBSTRUCTIONIST DEMOCRATS"...

Thisd is precisely why I am pissed at Nancy.. She KNEW what was ahead and she played right into the hands of the worst president EVER....

She should have pushed through CLEAN, single issue bills..right on schedule..and made him veto them.and then re-submit them again and again..

By waiting so long, anything she does now, is viewed as late..overbudget..and not acceptable.

pork is bad..no matter who does it..and it needs to stop.. If the only reason a person is a senator, is to get a bridge built or to get funding for his/her pals' businesses, they need to GO..dem or rep..

We cannot complain about ole ted's bridge to nowhere is we have people on our side doing the same thing..even if on a smaller scale..