According to the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the President must annually submit a budget to Congress by the first Monday in February. The proposed spending plan must show:

• the condition of the treasury at the end of the last completed fiscal year;
• the estimated condition of the treasury at the end of the current fiscal year; and
• the estimated condition of the treasury at the end of the next fiscal year if the budget proposals are carried out.

The Presidents budget proposal is based on the budget requests of all Government agencies. Congress then reviews the Presidents budget and develops its budget in a multi-step process that includes the approval of a budget resolution. Check out the various departments and budgets for the Fiscal Year 2024, which began October 1, 2023. Keeping in mind that the budget is usually approved during the prior spring, address the following questions:

1. What changes would you have made to the budget? Are there any programs that you would have enhanced with an increase in expenditures? Are there any programs that you would have advocated for a decrease in expenditures? Are there any programs that you would have eliminated entirely? Why?
2. What ramifications would you need to consider in view of your answer to part a? For example, if your suggestions increase the federal budget, from where would the funding come?