§015a. (CB) Allocation

Cyclopedia of Congressional Budget Law

Allocation

Summary

For purposes of the Congressional budget process, the term allocation is used almost exclusively to refer to an amount of budget authority and outlays provided to a Committee of Congress by the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for a fiscal year. Section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the budget resolution to set an amount of this spending authority each year for purposes of enforcing its levels. Exceeding such an allocation will cause the committee in question to “breach” its allocation and subject the applicable legislation to a point of order prohibiting its consideration on the floor of the House or Senate.

GAO Glossary of Terms and Definition (September 2005)

Allocation

For the purposes of budgeting, an allocation means a delegation, authorized in law, by one agency of its authority to obligate budget authority and outlay funds to another agency. (The appropriation or fund from which the allocation is made is generally referred to as the parent appropriation or fund.) An allocation is made when one or more agencies share the administration of a program for which appropriations are made to only one of the agencies or to the President. When an allocation occurs, the Department of the Treasury establishes a subsidiary account called a “transfer appropriation account,” and the agency receiving the allocation may obligate up to the amount included in the account. The budget does not show the transfer appropriation account separately. Transactions involving allocation accounts appear in the Object Classification Schedule, with the corresponding Program and Financing Schedule, in the President’s budget. For an illustration of the treatment of Object Classification—With Allocation Accounts, see OMB Circular No. A-11. (See also Object Classification; Transfer; Transfer Appropriation (Allocation) Accounts under Accounts for Purposes Other Than Budget Presentation.)

For purposes of section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. § 633(a)), an allocation is the distribution of spending authority and outlays to relevant committees based on the levels contained in a concurrent resolution on the budget. (See also Committee Allocation.)

For purposes of section 302(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. § 633(b)), an allocation is the distribution of spending authority and outlays to relevant subcommittees based on the levels contained in the concurrent resolution on the budget. (See also Subcommittee Allocation.)

For funds control purposes, an allocation is a further subdivision of an apportionment.

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Section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974

Allocation

While the GAO Glossary of Terms and Definitions (above) indicates a broader definition for executive branch purposes, the use of “allocation” in the Congressional Budget process normally refers to the amounts provided to Committees of Congress in the form of budget authority or outlays by the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 under its section identified as “Sec. 302. (a) Committee Spending Allocations“.