Federal Budget Issues, Carryover Balances, and Sequestration Questions

The federal budget is central to Congress's ability to exercise its "power of the purse". Recent economic turmoil put strain on the federal budget due to declining revenues and increasing spending levels. Subsequently, policies enacted to restrain spending, along with an improving economy, have put the federal budget on a more sustainable path in the near term. In this book, the authors discuss issues in the federal budget for FY2014 and beyond. Key questions that should be considered when evaluating balances in federal accounts are discussed, and frequently asked questions in the sequestration as a budget enforcement process are answered.