Source:https://www.laurengreutman.com
It is a very common for an observer to think that there is little to no organization to the federal funding process, but, it is a very structured system. There are many aspects that go into the process of creating the federal budget so that in the end, an efficient system is created. A Brief Guide to the Federal Budget and Appropriations Process by American Council on Education and the Disaster Relief Fund Monthly Report, reported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, demonstrates the process of how the budget is broken down and shows how the current levels of federal funding are currently allocated. The federal funding for the country is allocated by a structured system through which the congress controls, it is also controlled by the request to congress for the funding.
The federal budget money is allocated by the taxes paid by the citizens and A Brief Guide to the Federal Budget and Appropriations Process by American Council on Education explains this and also states that, “the federal funding process begins with the submission of the president’s annual budget request to the Congress… every year, the Congress is tasked with producing a budget resolution and 12 appropriations” (American Council on Education). These appropriations, though, do not include the emergency situations that may of may not take place. By doing this, the process of the budgeting stays organized and controlled. The reason that this matters to the citizens, is because in one way or another, we are all affected by the motions that the government chooses to put forward and we should all be aware of the things that affect us.
According to the Disaster Relief Fund Monthly Report, the Projected Balance at September 30, 2017 was estimated to be a little over 1 billion dollars. The footnotes at the bottom of the graphs state that, “FEMA continues to monitor the projected end-of-year balance in the Major Declarations. If warranted, FEMA will take steps to reprogram DRF funds from the base to the majors to cover obligations” (Disaster Relief Fund: Monthly Report FEMA). FEMA will be obligated to reassess their budget if there are unexpected events that are way larger than they anticipated.
Future Research Questions:
- What is a natural disaster and what does it take for it to be qualified as one?
- What happens when state of emergencies are put in place?
- Who can more effectively provide aid, the government or private companies?
- What is the role of charity vs. federal funding?
