The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2016 55 AFSA NEWS tees make allocation decisions. In accordance with Sections 302(a) and (b) of the Congres- sional Budget Act of 1974, the budget authority and outlays proposed in the final budget resolution are distributed to the appropriate House and Senate Appropriations Committees. These committees then must divide the proposed funds among their 12 subcommittees. June: Appropriations The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have jurisdiction over discretionary spending, which includes roughly 94 percent of the international affairs budget (aka the “150 Account”). The appropriations process determines how each cham- ber believes the discretionary funds should be allocated and involves consideration by (a) the House and Senate Appropria- tions Subcommittees; (b) the full Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate; and (c) the full House and Senate. There are three types of appropriations measures: (1) regular appropriations provide funding for agencies over the course of the federal fiscal year (Oct. 1–Sept. 30); (2) supple- mental appropriations provide budget authority for areas that have insufficient funding during the fiscal year, such as military expenses or disaster relief; and (3) continuing appropriations, better known as continuing resolutions, provide stopgap fund- ing for agencies that have yet to receive regular appropriations. July-August: Spending Bills The House and Senate strive to pass their respective spending bills prior to the regular state or district work period (i.e., the August recess). September: Conference Committee and President’s Signature AHouse-Senate conference committee is formed to resolve any differences between the two bills and to agree on a final version that can be presented to each body for a vote. The final bill can be in the form of an omnibus (a lumping of multiple appropriations bills into one larger bill), a continuing resolu- tion or a combination of the two (as was the case for FY 16). If passed by both chambers, the president must determine whether to sign the bill into law. October: Government Status Depends on Budget Outcome Oct. 1 is the beginning of the new fiscal year. An omnibus budget bill, or at least a continuing resolution, must have been signed into law by this date for the federal government to continue to operate. n the budget would create a $3.1 billion revolving fund to replace antiquated information technology. We invite you to read the respective analyses of the presi- dent’s international affairs budget request by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and the Congressional Research Service at www.bit.ly/21gS8Zw and www.bit.ly/21G66V9 to learn more. n —Javier Cuebas, Director of Advocacy CELEBRATE ADST AWARD REC I P I ENTS AT GALA D I NNER The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training will host its biennial gala dinner on April 26 at the Washington Plaza Hotel. ADST is pleased to announce the 2016 Tribute to Excellence award winners. Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution and Deputy Secretary of State in the Clinton administra- tion, will receive the Ralph J. Bunche Award for Diplomatic Excellence. Previous recipients include James Baker, Colin Powell and Lee Hamilton. The Cyrus Vance Award for Advancing Knowledge of Diplomacy will go to Joseph Nye, former dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The International Business Leadership Award will be presented to the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child, which has been creating and distributing educational devices for the developing world since 2005. Founder Nicholas Negro- ponte and CEO Rodrigo Arboleda will accept on the group’s behalf. ADST, a nonprofit organization located at the Foreign Service Institute, has the world’s largest collection of diplo- matic oral histories, archived onsite and with the Library of Congress. For more information about ADST or to sign up for this year’s gala, visit www.ADST.org. n ANNOUNCEMENT