The path toward the first U.S. budget in five years is growing more fraught, with sequestration looming again on the horizon.
While the passage of the U.S. budget conference Tuesday night is being celebrated as the first Republican budget passed by both houses in eight years, the House and Senate appropriations bills — which are legally binding, unlike the nonbinding budget conference — tell another story.
The nonbinding budget conference provides a nonbinding framework for spending, while the appropriations bills — like the 302(b) allocations released by the House last week — sets spending for the 302(b) accounts. This includes the all-important State and Foreign Operations “150” account, which funds 97 percent of foreign aid spending.
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About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
