Among its many responsibilities, Congress holds the power to allocate funds for all federal government programs and services through the appropriations process. Understanding how the appropriations process works, and the timing of key decisions, will help BBBS agencies advocate for our network’s funding priorities like the Youth Mentoring Grant to ensure we maintain or increase federal investment for this important program.
What is the Appropriations Process?
The appropriations process is the mechanism through which Congress allocates funds for government agencies, programs, and activities. It is a multi-step process that requires coordination within the House and Senate, and eventually between both chambers.
The appropriations process generally follows these steps:
President's Budget Request (February): The President submits the Administration’s budget request to Congress the first Monday in February (although it can be released as late as March). This request provides the blueprint for how much funding the Administration wants Congress to fund all federal government programs in the upcoming fiscal year. Ultimately, however, Congress holds the purse strings and will make the funding decisions regardless of what the Administration requests.
Congressional offices accept appropriations requests (March-April): Congressional offices accept appropriations requests and meet with stakeholders, which is the public’s opportunity to ask their members of Congress to fund their priority federal programs at a certain amount. In addition, House and Senate Budget Committees submit their own budget resolutions. These resolutions set the top-line spending limits for the 12 main appropriations bills that fund the federal government.
Appropriations Subcommittees draft their bills (May): The House and Senate Appropriations Committees are divided into twelve Subcommittees that focus on specific areas. For the Youth Mentoring Grant, the Commerce, Science, and Justice (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee in both chambers has jurisdiction over initial funding decisions for the program. During May, House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees draft their appropriations bills, which will provide initial funding allocations to all federal programs.
Mark Ups Take Place (June-July): Each House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee mark up their respective bill to make potential changes and then the bill passes out of the Subcommittee. Afterward, the passed Subcommittee bill heads to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees where they will also mark up the bill to make potential changes, and then the bill passes out of the Committee.
Congressional Recess (August): Members of Congress are back home for the Congressional month-long recess. This is a great time to invite your member of Congress to an event or visit their local Congressional office.
End of the Fiscal Year (September): Congress must pass all 12 appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, or a Continuing Resolution (CR) to temporarily fund the government at existing fiscal year levels until a final agreement is reached. If a budget or CR isn’t approved by the end of the month, the federal government will shut down.
Lengthy Budget Season (October-December): Over recent years, Congress has not been able to pass a budget by the end of the fiscal year and instead have passed multiple CRs to fund the federal government for an extended period through the fall, and sometimes the following spring. During final budget negotiations, if the House and Senate pass different versions of an appropriations bill, a conference committee is formed to reconcile the differences. Once Congress has finalized these differences and passed the budget in both chambers, the bill is sent to the President for approval.
How Can BBBS Agencies Get Involved in the Appropriations Process?
February through July is the most opportune time for BBBS advocates to engage in appropriations advocacy, but relationship-building with members of Congress should be a yearlong activity so that when you do reach out during appropriations season about the Youth Mentoring Grant, your members of Congress are already familiar with this programmatic priority.
Here are a few ways agencies can get involved during appropriations season:
- If you attended BBBSA’s Capitol Hill Day, make sure you thank your members and staff for meeting with you to discuss the Youth Mentoring Grant and follow up with supplemental materials (stories and data ) about either your agency’s implementation of the grant and/or the grant’s impact on BBBS nationwide by referencing the BBBSA Youth Mentoring Grant fact sheet.
- Utilize BBBSA’s Action Center to contact your members of Congress and ask them to support our ask of $130 Million for the Youth Mentoring Grant in the fiscal year 25 budget.
- Sign on to coalition letters. Every February, MENTOR circulates a coalition letter asking Congress to invest in the Youth Mentoring Grant. The more youth mentoring organizations that sign on to the coalition letter, the more impactful it will be to convince members to robustly fund the program.
For more information on how to participate in advocacy year-round, the Government Relations team has created an advocacy calendar for agencies to use to develop and implement a strong advocacy plan.