How to Track and Influence Federal Spending
For many government affairs professionals, influencing the federal budget can be critical to meeting their policy goals. But the congressional budget process is complex and includes multiple steps and many offices and individuals.
To keep pace and monitor legislative actions and decision points around federal agency budgets, lobbying professionals need a powerful technology solution like Bloomberg Government, which provides real-time visibility into every stage of the process – from the initial budget request to appropriations and final agency spending.
Here, you’ll find timely information on how to track and influence the U.S. federal budget – including federal agency spending – to better advance your policy priorities.
[Download our comprehensive Guide to Federal Budget Dynamics for an overview of the federal budget process and a breakdown of the appropriations process, legislative maneuvering, and strategic implications.]
Critical points of influence in the federal budget and appropriations process
Congress holds the constitutional power of the purse, but this authority has faced debate during Trump’s second presidency. While the president proposes a budget each year, only Congress can authorize programs, appropriate funds, raise revenues, and set borrowing limits.
The federal budget appropriations process is how Congress allocates discretionary funding to federal agencies, departments, and programs each fiscal year (Oct. 1 -Sept. 30). It’s distinct from mandatory spending on programs such as Social Security and Medicare and debt interest payments, which are set by other laws.
After a budget resolution (or a deeming resolution) is adopted and the overall discretionary total or 302 (a) allocation is set, it’s divided among the 12 appropriations subcommittees in both the House and Senate as part of a process known as 302(b) allocations.
The appropriations process is meant to run from May to September – though timing has fluctuated in more recent years. During this period, each subcommittee drafts its appropriations bill for the agencies under its jurisdiction.
This window often is the most important for sector-specific appropriations lobbying because it offers the most direct opportunity to influence funding levels for specific programs and add legislative language such as policy riders, directives, or restrictions. Lobbyists also fight for inclusion of language in committee reports that benefit their clients.
That said, the federal budget appropriations cycle includes many chances for lawmakers, agency officials, and external stakeholders to exert influence. But keeping the timing of the cycle in mind is key.
To be as impactful as possible, government affairs departments must identify and reach out to the right contacts at the right moments. For example, it’s important to engage with agency staff and any executive branch officials early – during the agency budget formulation and OMB review stages – as agency-level recommendations can affect the Presidential budget request and, thus, set the tone for congressional hearings.
When developing a timely and well-informed strategy to track and influence federal spending, plan ahead so you can manage the following stages of this complex process.
Before the cycle begins
Before the budget cycle kicks off with the President’s budget request, government affairs professionals should communicate with agency officials to advocate for their causes. Agency staff can consider these entreaties when formulating their requests for the White House Office of Management and Budget.
These agency connections also remain important later in the process because lawmakers often will communicate with agency officials behind the scenes about proposals, and agency support can help lobbyist positions if proposals are raised in Congress.
Supporting markups
Congress generally holds hearings during the budget process, where it can question administration officials about their requests, and government affairs professionals can wield particular influence. For example, government affairs professionals can provide briefing information and potential areas for questioning to subcommittee members’ staff in preparation for hearings.
These professionals also can write legislation or submit language for consideration. And they can participate in markups (the process by which each Congress spending bill is debated and refined) by providing the key information needed for the appropriations committee reports that issue guidance to agencies on spending. This work could potentially include outlining how specific funds will be spent and why funds are necessary.
Before a floor vote
In addition, if a budget appropriations bill is bound for a floor vote, government affairs professionals can approach lawmakers in advance to elicit their support (or opposition, if needed) – and to suggest amendments in support of their causes, if appropriate.
To do this advocacy work, government affairs teams should be prepared to show the need for their proposals as well as the financial return on investment of their proposed adjustments. And they should develop counterarguments that account for any expected pushback.
During appropriations
Government affairs professionals should stay in touch with lawmakers and congressional staff during the budget appropriations process, which might include strategically pursuing earmarks if these professionals determine – after a risk-benefit analysis – that these proposed provisions would not be opposed by, or hurtful to, any partners or key lawmakers on their side.
In addition, government affairs professionals should strive to bring on external validators and build coalitions – an essential part of policy work that can help increase influence and provide access to additional advocacy resources. And these professionals should be prepared to adjust their advocacy strategies along the way, as coalitions can become more effective when responsive to stakeholder feedback.
Furthermore, government affairs teams should have a rapid-response strategy in place in case they have to navigate supplemental appropriations or emergency funding vehicles.
For example, while a dedicated team can be important when it comes to monitoring issues and evaluating funding options under pressure, government affairs professionals should know who the ultimate decider is and have a plan in place for how to accurately and effectively communicate with stakeholders, lawmakers, or other officials.
After a budget has passed
Notably, Congress is supposed to pass all appropriations measures by the start of the new federal fiscal year on Oct. 1. But there often are delays. If Congress and the president do not reach agreement on spending levels on time, Congress must enact a continuing resolution – which often continues federal spending at the present level – to keep the government running and allow more time for the appropriations process.
Even after the official budget process is complete, government affairs professionals can offer post-enactment guidance, such as by strategically offering information that influences actions on federal agency budgets or by recommending specific spending decisions that benefit their advocacy goals.
[Download our comprehensive Guide to Federal Budget Dynamics to master the complexities of appropriations, budget reconciliation, and strategic advocacy.]
Tracking federal budget legislation effectively
It can be difficult to stay on top of the many moving pieces of budget legislation while working to advocate for your goals and connect with key contacts who work on federal agency spending.
While it’s possible to track budget-related legislation using a manual process, particularly if you’re only trying to follow a couple of issues, this kind of tracking has its limits.
For example, legislative information is freely available on the official websites of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. But full-text searching on government websites can surface many irrelevant results that require more time to sift through before finding what you’re looking for – leading to the possibility of information overload or completely missing the information you’re seeking.
That’s one reason why many government affairs professionals have turned to public affairs software to streamline their searches, so they can then focus on more strategic advocacy-related tasks.
For instance, many government affairs teams are saving major time in their workflows by using legislative tracking tools.
“Bloomberg Government saves several man-hours a week by allowing me to track state and federal legislation based on key words or issues,” said Elizabeth Duffy, principal of The Federal Affairs Office. “The alerts allow me to delve deeper into the legislation.”
So, what are some best practices for leveraging a trusted digital tracking tool like ours at Bloomberg Government?
- Set up tailored alerts for relevant bills, committees, and markups early in the process so you can limit searches to the issues most relevant to your causes.
- Focus on the most impactful bills and issues for your clients or organization so you don’t get overwhelmed.
- Leverage automated features such as Congress spending bill summaries and text comparison tools to spot changes and trends in budget-related legislation.
- Add trusted news feeds and real-time legislative updates into your workflow so you can have alerts sent directly to you.
- Make sure to track both legislative vehicles and language from committee reports – which are explanatory reports that accompany bills to explain congressional intent and the scope of legislation – because these reports can carry as much weight as bill text.
- Keep up with your contacts, including federal agency staff, lawmakers, and other stakeholders, and add to your network as needed so you can continue to hear and share key insights.
How to leverage committee report language
Although Congress does not formally vote on committee reports, these committee reports are important in the budget process.
In fact, “report language plays an essential role in the congressional consideration of appropriations measures and affects how federal agencies interpret and obligate the funds provided in those measures,” confirms Congress.gov, the official website for U.S. federal legislative information.
Report language can direct federal agency spending without changing statute. And these reports can be a crucial tool for government affairs professionals to advocate for their funding goals.
To find success in the committee report process:
- Work with committee staff to propose report language and leverage your network and existing connections to stay in touch with these contacts.
- Provide draft language in a staff-friendly format by making sure your draft is specific to the legislation and well-organized.
- Cite any local impacts as well as administration alignment when making any recommendations and provide accessible materials that support your position.
[Navigate the complexities of the federal budget process with confidence with our Guide to Federal Budget Dynamics. It covers everything from appropriations to budget reconciliation to legislative strategy.]
Modernizing federal spending advocacy with technology
In addition to using legislative tracking tools from Bloomberg Government to work more efficiently on federal spending advocacy, you can also use our other tools to streamline your workflow and advocacy efforts.
Here’s an example workflow – supported by technology – that government affairs staff can implement:
- Identify funded programs by analyzing budget documents.
Instead of manually sifting through these pages, use Bloomberg Government’s Federal Funding Flow, which provides end-to-end insights for the U.S. federal budget, appropriations, and spending process by giving access to all budget documents, funding allocations, up-to-date spending data, and information on congressional appropriations subcommittees in one place. Plus, our new line items table feature helps you identify potential funding increases, anticipate cuts, and better inform your planning and advocacy strategies. - Monitor committee hearings and legislative action for program changes.
Access Bloomberg Government transcripts for complete, verbatim records of congressional hearings, markups, press conferences, key news events, and more – with access provided in a day or less. And our legislation bill tracking offers real-time alerts; actionable intelligence; and customizable tools to monitor, analyze, and act on legislative developments in Congress. - Stay updated on priority shifts and emerging needs.
Use Bloomberg Government’s customizable news alerts from 35,000+ local, national, and international news sources – plus Bloomberg News – to get unbeatable coverage on critical policy developments as they unfold. - Build a compelling case for additional funding.
Leverage the related information from our Federal Funding Flow tool to build a case that’s informed by historical budget execution and save time in tracking these data. - Engage with key congressional staff to advocate for your goals.
To support your efforts, access Bloomberg Government congressional directories, which are refreshed every 24 hours and offer insider details on congressional members and staff – including bios, contact information, voting records, and committee membership.
See how Bloomberg Government’s Federal Funding Flow tool helps you make sense of funding allocations with clear visualizations linking appropriated funds to contract-level spending.
Federal government contractors also can benefit from these Bloomberg Government tools. Consider the following example workflow:
- Analyze budget documents to identify funded programs.
Use Bloomberg Government’s Federal Funding Flow to simplify the budget tracking process. - Stay up to date on program changes and emerging needs.
Access Bloomberg Government’s legislation tracker, hearing transcripts, and news alerts. - Connect funding accounts to dollars that were spent historically.
Consult the spending data in Federal Funding Flow to make this process more efficient. - Build trend analysis, anticipate future work, and position for this work.
To effectively carry out these tasks, leverage the detailed budget line-item information available in Federal Funding Flow.
In short, Bloomberg Government gives government affairs professionals everything they need to understand, respond to, and shape policy and spending priorities with confidence. Ready to learn more? Request a demo.