A Primer on the Budget Resolution’s Impact on Education Funding

The budget resolution put forward by Congress each year — which sets out the congressional budget plan for the next five years — and the ensuing budget process itself are enormously significant for education funding. However, the arcane procedures under which Congress produces and acts upon the budget resolution are often confusing to the media and education advocates alike. This confusion is made worse by political rhetoric and partisan spin. This brief by the New America Foundation’s Federal Education Budget Project is meant to shed light on how the budget resolution affects education funding.

This primer clarifies certain aspects of the budget resolution and the budget process. They include:

• Budget Functions and Committee Allocations;
• How the Appropriations Committee Allocation Affects Education Funding;
• Why the Appropriations Process Matters More than the Budget Resolution;
• Mandatory Funding Allocation Matters for Education;
• Reserve Funds and Discretionary Cap Adjustments;
• Points of Order and Budget Enforcement;
• Advance Appropriations for Education; and,
• Budget Reconciliation.

For the full text of the FEBP’s primer, please see the PDF.