The congressional appropriations process: Background and potential innovations

James C. Capretta, The congressional appropriations process: Background and potential innovations, American Enterprise Institute, September 2025.

James C. Capretta notes that the present budget process has veered from the structure set up in the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and presently is producing poor fiscal and programmatic results. For example, the division between the authorizations process and the appropriations process has become blurred, with appropriators approving spending that is not authorized and often accompanied by exceedingly prolix directives.

Capretta shows the budget process established in 1974 was just one of many iterations, and that as times change so too should the budget process. He suggests several reforms, such as reducing the 12 annual spending bills into fewer related measures, creating multi-year spending plans for agencies with performance incentives, and establishing “bridge funding” to prevent government shutdowns.