Appropriations are required by the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9 which states:

"No money shall be drawn from the Treasury except in consequence of Appropriations, made by law."

The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) and Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) each have 12 subcommittees responsible for producing 12 annual appropriations bills covering the various agencies and activities of the federal government (see Table 1).

The HAC and SAC and their subcommittees kick off their hearings in the March time frame. Mark-up of the President’s Budget (PB) is conducted by the subcommittees, followed by preparation of the appropriations bill for which the subcommittee is responsible. As in the authorization process, the House version of an appropriations bill is normally completed before the Senate version. Each version of the bill is sent to the floor of the appropriate chamber for debate, possible amendment, and final floor approval. A conference will ensue to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions. After the conference version of the bill has been passed by both the full House and full Senate, it becomes an Act and is sent to the President to be signed into law.