# Understanding the 2022 Congressional Budget Resolution

Congress passes a budget resolution every year to set spending limits and priorities for the federal government. This particular resolution establishes the overall budget framework for fiscal year 2022 (which runs from October 2021 through September 2022) and also sketches out spending guidelines for the following nine years through 2031.

Think of a budget resolution like a family deciding how much money they'll spend on different categories—housing, food, transportation—for the next decade. It sets the boundaries for how much Congress can spend in different areas and how much revenue they expect to collect. This resolution is important because it determines how much money can be allocated to things like defense, Social Security, Medicare, education, infrastructure, and everything else the federal government does. Without passing a budget resolution, Congress can't move forward with specific spending bills that actually fund these programs.

The resolution affects you indirectly through the programs and services you may rely on. If Congress allocates more money toward certain priorities in this budget framework, those programs get more resources. If they allocate less, those programs get squeezed. For example, if the budget resolution prioritizes defense spending, that's money that might not be available for education or healthcare programs. The nine-year outlook also signals Congress's long-term intentions about which areas they plan to invest in or cut back on in the coming years.

Ultimately, this is a planning document that shapes the detailed spending decisions Congress will make throughout the year. It doesn't directly put money into your pocket or take it out, but it determines the overall direction of federal spending that affects everything from the roads you drive on to the benefits seniors receive to the research that gets funded.

A concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2022 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2023 through 2031.

Sanders, Bernard

This concurrent resolution establishes the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2022, sets forth budgetary levels for FY2023-FY2031, and provides reconciliation instructions for legislation that increases the deficit. The resolution recommends levels and amounts for FY2022-FY2031 for <ul> <li> federal revenues, </li> <li> new budget authority, </li> <li> budget outlays, </li> <li> deficits, </li> <li> public debt, </li> <li> debt held by the public, and </li> <li> the major functional categories of spending. </li> </ul> It also recommends levels and amounts for Social Security and Postal Service discretionary administrative expenses for the purpose of budget enforcement in the Senate. The resolution includes reconciliation instructions that direct (1) several House and Senate committees to report legislation that will increase the deficit over FY2022-FY2031 by no more than an amount specified for each committee, and (2) the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee to report legislation that will reduce the deficit by at least $1 billion over FY2022-FY2031. (Under current law, reconciliation bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in the Senate.) In addition, the resolution establishes reserve funds that allow certain adjustments to committee allocations and other budgetary levels to accommodate <ul> <li>reconciliation legislation,</li> <li>tax legislation that does not raise taxes on people making less than $400,000, and</li> <li>legislation that would not increase the deficit over specified time periods. </li> </ul> The resolution also sets forth budget enforcement procedures that address issues such as emergency legislation, advance appropriations, infrastructure legislation, adjustments to budget allocations, and cost estimates for child care or prekindergarten legislation.