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Abstract

Supplemental appropriations provide additional funding to an agency during the course of a fiscal year for programs and activities that are considered too urgent to wait until the next year’s budget. Though supplemental spending was kept under control throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the general trend since 1998 has been a sharp increase in the amount of discretionary supplemental appropriations and a precipitous decline in offsetting rescissions. In 1998, supplemental spending amounted to $7 billion, while in 2005, it was $143 billion (in inflation-adjusted dollars). Both the President and Congress share the blame for this recent increase in supplemental spending. The increased reliance on supplemental spending is problematic because the lack of detail in supplemental budget requests--combined with their expedited approval process--leaves little room for Congressional oversight. In addition, the reduced budget discipline for supplemental bills attracts earmarks and other projects that wouldn’t be funded on their own merits.

Further, the increased use of supplemental appropriations has enabled a spending explosion. Supplemental appropriations designated as emergencies do not count against the annual budget limits set by Congress, and since the expiration of certain budget constraints in 2002, supplemental appropriations that exceed the limits no longer trigger automatic cuts. Consequently, supplemental bills, and emergency supplementals in particular, have become the tool of choice for Congress and the Administration to evade annual budget limits and increase spending across the board. Funding the military--even predictable, non-emergency needs--through supplementals hides skyrocketing defense costs and allows Congress to boost regular appropriations for both defense and nondefense programs. It is essential to address the supplemental spending shell game that Capitol Hill and the White House have been playing for years. Some simple reforms would achieve that goal.

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