Government Glossary

Budget Resolution

Short Definition

A measure (provided for by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended) that sets forth a congressional budget.

Long Explanation

A measure (provided for by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended) that sets forth a congressional budget plan, including aggregate budgetary levels, which may be enforced during the subsequent consideration of spending and revenue legislation. It is in the form of a concurrent resolution (e.g., an H.Con.Res or an S.Con. Res), not a law-making vehicle; as such, it is not submitted to the president.

In practice, Budget Resolution is useful because it helps a visitor connect a word or phrase to law making, committee work, oversight, votes, or congressional records. When you see the term in an official source, ask which office has authority, what decision is being made, which deadline or rule matters, and where the public record can be checked.

Examples

Simple exampleA visitor sees “Budget Resolution” while reading about a bill and uses Congress.gov or a committee page to find the official record.

Civic exampleA citizen trying to follow lawmaking checks the bill text, committee action, vote record, and chamber rules before relying on a summary.

Common Misconception

A common mistake is treating Budget Resolution as a complete explanation of what Congress did. The term is usually a starting point. To know what happened, check the bill text, committee action, chamber record, and vote information where available.

Related Terms

CongressFederal BudgetLegislationLegislative BranchLegislative Process

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