Principles of Appropriations Law Training - An Orientation to Federal Fiscal Law

GAO’s course on Principles of Appropriations Law acquaints participants with the purposes and principles of federal fiscal law. It blends lecture, case studies, and student participation in a way that engages and challenges participants, while maximizing the exchange of both practical and theoretical information.

The course is designed to provide the student with an analytical framework for approaching appropriations issues. Topics addressed include the availability of appropriations as to purpose, amount and time, the necessary expense rule, the Antideficiency Act, augmentation, the bona fide needs rule, and multiyear contracting.

This course refers to the same body of case law published in GAO’s Principles of Federal Appropriations Law (commonly referred to as “the Red Book”), and is a useful companion to the Red Book. Participants receive a copy of the Red Book on compact disc.

Course Objectives

The course provides participants an analytical framework useful in identifying and resolving appropriations law issues arising in their own work. The course focuses on the availability of appropriations as to purpose, amount, and time. It also explains:

  • The basic constitutional and legislative controls and processes regarding federal funds
  • Fiscal law terminology
  • Fundamental rules of statutory construction
  • The concept of “obligation” in appropriations law
  • The application of appropriations law in interagency transactions

Course Outline

  1. Introduction to Appropriations Law
    1. Constitution and Major Statutes
    2. Annual Budget Process
    3. Annual Appropriations Process
    4. Budget Execution and Control
    5. Apportionment and Allotment
    6. Obligating and Disbursing Funds
    7. Impoundment
    8. Account Closing
  2. Terminology and Classification
  3. Statutory Construction
  4. Availability of Appropriations: Purpose
    1. Three-Step Analysis
    2. Necessary Expense Rule
    3. Statutory Purpose Restrictions
    4. Other Available Appropriations
  5. Availability of Appropriations: Amount
    1. Antideficiency Act: Provisions, Exceptions, Sanctions and Applications
    2. Rule Against Augmentation, and the Miscellaneous Receipts Act
  6. Availability of Appropriations: Time
    1. General Rule
    2. Classification
    3. Bona Fide Needs Rule: Fiscal Year Needs, Exceptions, and Applications
    4. Prohibition on Advance Payments
    5. Appropriation Account Closing
  7. Obligation of Appropriations
  8. Interagency Transactions

Who should attend

Government personnel with finance, accounting, contracting, budgeting, property management, auditing, or legal responsibilities

Who has attended

Recent attendees include staff from the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor and State, the Federal Aviation Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, and the Library of Congress, as well as Army, Navy, and Joint Chiefs staff and staff from other Defense Department components, including the Comptroller’s Office, Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Defense Education Agency.

Registration

Individuals
$350.00 per participant
Groups
$3,000 (additional costs apply for groups taught outside of the Washington, D.C. area)

Class Hours

Days 1 and 2:    8:30 am to 4:00 p.m.

Day 3:               8:30 am to 12:00 p.m.

Course Materials

Participants receive a Manual (with course notes and exercises) and a CD of the current edition of the Red Book.

For more information, contact
Joyce Harper or Tom Armstrong at
Office: 202-512-5644
Fax: 202-512-3445
Email: HarperJ@GAO.GOV or ArmstrongT@GAO.GOV

Other GAO Appropriations Law Training

  • Speakers
  • Abbreviated Courses and Seminars
  • Specialized Presentations