Public Budgeting Spring
Essay Questions: the following 5 questions. There will be some overlap in your between questions, but please try to minimize this by choosing strategically which questions to answer.
1.) Compare and contrast the budgetary climate of the Biden Administration with that of President Trump and President Obama.
2.) Review the following acts of Congress and indicate which piece of has had the most significant effect on the federal budgeting process and why.
Budget and Accounting Act of 1921
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings) Act of 1985
Budget Control Act of 2011
3.) According to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the federal government has passed 127 continuing
resolutions since FY 1998. Why? Discuss what you see as three fundamental problems to the federal
budget process in its current form and how you would address or change the process to make it more
functional. . These should be specific reforms—simply saying that “Congress should be less polarized”
is not sufficient. What institutional or policy reforms are necessary?
4.) Discuss how the history of federal dating back to the signing of the U.S. Constitution
has changed through the Biden Administration. Discuss how and why spending levels have changed
and on what types of policies, and what institutional have been added.
5.) Distinguish between mandatory spending and discretionary spending, and provide examples of each.
Also, please distinguish between the deficit and debt and what are considered acceptable levels of
spending and deficits. Please discuss your responses in terms of percent of GDP.
