Emergency Spending Is on the Rise: Here ’s How Congress Can Stop It

Romina Boccia and Dominik LettCongress has spent a  combined $1 trillion through supplemental appropriations over the last five years in inflation‐​adjusted 2021 dollars. While most of the supplemental spending since 2020 was in response to COVID-19, supplemental appropriations are on the rise over the long term (chart below).Supplemental appropriations are primarily emergency spending that falls outside of regular budgeting procedures. Congress is increasingly using crises as justifications to spend more. Now, the Biden administration has asked Congress to tack on an additional$85 billion in emergency spending to discretionary appropriations that are set to expire after December 23. Congress needs an enforceable rule requiring offsetting spending reductions to increases in supplemental spending. This would effectively limit emergency spending growth.Most funding in supplemental appropriations is designated as emergency funding. However,what qualifies as an emergency is not well ‐​defined. Congress has enormous latitude in determining what appropriations it designates as emergency funding. Congress is increasingly relying on supplemental appropriations to fund ongoing government priorities. Supplemental bills often include funding for projects that are neither unforesee n nor urgent. For example:The2013 supplemental responding to Hurricane Sandy included money for improved weather forecasting which, while related to the issue of hurricanes, represented forward ‐​...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs