How The Budget Gets Done
POTUS' exec office builds a bottom-up budget with details that reflect a POTUS's priorities. In theory this could also be used as a distraction technique.
Congress authorizes/resolves the official budget, of course. They establish a total budget known as a 302(a) allocation
There are two Appropriation Committees - one in the House and one in the Senate. These committees break down the budget into next-level 302(b) allocations, one for each of the 12 subcommittees dealing with different parts of the fed budget. The sub-committees then determine how the monies are spent among the agencies/programs under each subcommittee's jurisdiction.
The State of Affairs
These seven of twelve remain unfunded:
• Agriculture, Rural, and FDA
• Commerce, Justice, and Science
• Financial Services and General Government
• Interior and Environment
• State and Foreign Operations
• Transportation and Housing & Urban Development
• Homeland Security
By end of Sep 2017, Congress enacted these five of twelve appropriations:
• Legislative Branch,
• Department of Defense
• Labor, Health & Human Services and Education Departments
• Energy & Water
• Military Construction & VA
The Art of the Deal
The Senate normally has to wait for budget resolution to set 302(a) allocations for its subcommittees. However, in the absence of budget resolution, the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act authorized the Chairmen of each Budget Committee (House and Senate) to set the allocation for its Appropriations Committees for two years (2018 and 2019). The Senate Committee has already deemed allocations under the authority provided by that act.
The last two in the list above are particularly interesting. Military Construction speaks for itself, and Energy & Water includes funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Red/Green Castle)!
And although it may seem troubling that DHS is still unfunded, in the event of a shutdown, 55K of Customs and Border Protection's 60K employees are considered essential and will continue to be utilized.
POTUS' tweet today on Border Security is a totally taunting dick-slap-to-the-face to Dems. Senator Richard Shelby is Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee! POTUS is confident that together they can round up $23B for border security. And don’t forget the 2019 Defense Spending Bill, hysterically named the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act, already includes money for the wall!
References
• Appropriations 101: https://www.crfb.org/papers/appropriations-101
• Status of each appropriations bill: http://www.crfb.org/blogs/appropriations-watch-fy-2019
• Government Shutdown FAQ: http://www.crfb.org/papers/qa-everything-you-should-know-about-government-shutdowns
• More detail on the appropriations Process: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42388.pdf
• About Discretionary Spending: https://www.thebalance.com/current-us-discretionary-federal-budget-and-spending-3306308
• Great, brief definition of 302(b): https://simpson.house.gov/appropriations/302ballocations.htm
• DHS Essential Services: https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/DHS%20Procedure%20Related%20to%20a%20Lapse%20in%20Appropriations%20%2812-20-2018%29%20-%20FINAL%20…_0.pdf
• Art of the Deal bitches! (Donate to Judicial Watch if you do buy): https://smile.amazon.com/Trump-Art-Deal-Donald-J/dp/0399594493