Business Taxes
Why States Give Companies Tax Breaks to Create Jobs
A state can give a company a tax break, get the promised jobs and still have paid for an investment that would have happened anyway. States…
Budget Appropriations
Budget appropriations is how governments decide how much money to raise and how to spend it. In the federal system, Congress passes spending laws, the president proposes and signs them, and agencies carry them out. States and localities follow their own budget processes under their own laws. Understanding the cycle helps explain why programs are funded, cut, or delayed.
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Latest in Budget Appropriations
Federal Budget Process
How the Federal Budget Process Is Supposed to Work
The 1974 law set a strict budget calendar, but Congress almost never meets its deadlines, relying instead on stopgap funding and last-minute deals.
Government Shutdowns
TSA Agents Must Work Unpaid During Shutdowns. Here’s What Labor Law Says.
This isn't some bureaucratic oversight or emergency improvisation. It's exactly what federal law allows. The legal framework permitting the government to require unpaid labor from TSA…
Budget Appropriations
How Congress Uses Appropriations Riders to Control Agency Operations
When the Department of Homeland Security entered a partial shutdown on February 15, 2026, something strange happened. Or rather, something strange didn't happen. Immigration and Customs…
Topics in Budget Appropriations
Federal money
Federal Budget Process covers the steps from proposal to law, Federal Spending covers what the government spends money on, Federal Revenue and Taxes covers how it raises money, and Federal Deficit and Debt covers what happens when spending exceeds income.
Federal Budget Process
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Federal Spending
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When funding lapses
Government Shutdowns covers what happens when funding bills are not in place.
State and local
State and Local Budgets covers how states, cities, and counties plan and balance their own finances.
All Articles on Budget Appropriations
Congress Can Mandate Body Cameras Through Spending Bills. Here’s How That Works.
Congress can force operational changes on federal agencies without passing a single standalone law. They do it through appropriations bills—the annual funding legislation that…
How Congress Uses Funding Deadlines to Control What Federal Agencies Can Do
On or around February 13-14, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security ran out of money. Not because Congress couldn't agree on a budget number—they…
Why DHS Funding Got Tied to Immigration Enforcement Demands
Congress hasn't passed all twelve spending bills on time in nearly thirty years. The government now runs on last-minute deals and manufactured crises. This…
What Happens to U.S. Funding After Withdrawing from International Organizations
The United States owes the United Nations over $4 billion in unpaid bills. Now the administration is moving to withdraw from dozens of international…
How a Government Shutdown Affects Federal Workers, Benefits, and Services
By Tuesday, February 3, 2026, House Republicans prepared for a vote with almost no margin for error. The outcome would determine whether millions of…
When Congress Misses a Funding Deadline, Here’s What Happens Next
At 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday, January 31, 2026, the United States government entered a partial shutdown. Congress wasn't absent or unaware. The…
When Congress Withholds Funding: How Agencies Decide Who Works Without Pay
In January 2026, hundreds of thousands of federal employees woke up to an email they'd been dreading. Some learned they were sent home without…
Congress Attached Policy Demands to Funding Bills. That’s Not New—But It Is Risky.
The immediate trigger was familiar: disagreement over how much money to spend. But the fight is about something Congress has been doing since the…
Can the President Ignore Restrictions Written Into Funding Laws?
The Constitution gives Congress one power that trumps nearly everything else: control of the money. Not whenever the President wants to. Not based on…
Can Federal Contractors Sue When Shutdowns Delay Their Payments?
During the 43-day shutdown that ended in November 2025—the longest in American history—contractors faced unpaid work and lost revenue. For contractors who build ships,…