A Primer on the 2009 Budget Resolution’s Impact on Education Funding

The budget resolution put forward by Congress each year sets out a budget plan for the next five to ten years. The budget resolution and the ensuing budget process itself can have significant effects on education funding. The arcane procedures Congress uses to produce and act upon the budget resolution, however, 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.

The annual budget resolution is an agreement between the two legislative chambers establishing both spending and revenue levels for the five or ten upcoming fiscal years, as well as various rules and procedures governing the budget process in the House and Senate. The budget resolution, however, is not legislation and does not become law. Instead it serves as a set of self-imposed rules and guidelines that Congress uses to shape spending and revenue legislation considered later in the year. The budget resolution is drafted by the House and Senate Budget Committees each year and is subsequently voted on by the full House and Senate in an expedited manner. Most importantly, it cannot be filibustered in the Senate. It needs only a simple majority vote to pass.

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