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It should be the policy of the federal govern ment to aim always for a balanced budget or financial stability will be upset. To balance the budget, action should be taken to reduce or end some federal programs which we have been acquiring in the past thirty years. The compensatory theory of federal spending has not been successful until now and offers little hope for the future unless there is control in the growth of federal spending. We should not initiate programs as tem porary expedients during times of recession since they create great problems in future years. Although we must accept deficits when the country is in a national emergency, we should later create equivalent surpluses to offset deficits caused by the emergency. It is, therefore, necessary to pay as we go if we want to reduce the national debt and taxes. It is also neces sary to plan for budgetary surpluses in good years if we do not want to extend inflation in the future.—Ed.

"Updates and expands the assessment of the long-term budgetary outlook, addressing such issues as the collapse of the congressional budgetary process and the threat posed by the termination of discretionary spending caps. Concludes with a look at how the nation's deficit will affect America now and in the future"--Provided by publisher

This report provides information about The Current and Upcoming Issues on Federal Budget. The Federal Budget implements congress's " power of the purse".

This report provides information about The Current and Upcoming Issues on Federal Budget. The Federal Budget implements congress's " power of the purse".

Experience over the past year with administra tion and congressional efforts to restrain federal expenditures has emphasized the need for better budget control procedures and mechanisms than now exist. Although expenditures can only be made on the basis of prior authorization of Congress, primary control of the levels of annual spending is exercised by the Executive. Item-veto authority would strengthen its con trol. Congressional control of a given year's expenditures through the conventional appropriations process is limited to a small portion of the total budget—about one-third of total for nondefense programs. Congress could increase its control over annual expenditures by adopting the practice of setting ceil ings on expenditures or at least on obligations, and preferably in conjunction with a single-package appropriations bill in place of the present multibill practice of appropriating. The making of decisions by the Executive and Congress on budget priorities, with respect to both the total and its individual parts, could be improved by creation of a program-evaluation commission. Finally, creation of a joint congressional budget committee consisting of a relatively small number of majority and minority members of the appropriations and tax-writing committees would encourage over-all budget decisions by the Congress instead of piecemeal decisions alone.