b'LEGISLATIVE REPORTLEGISLATIVE It Is Harder to Spend $6 Trillion Than You Might ThinkRICHARD PATCH // LEGISLATIVE DIRECTORW ell,itwasntpretty,andWhite House finally completed Fiscalyear which began on Oct. 1, 2023. As itwasntontime,butinYear 2024 (FY24) funding for federalit turns out, it is harder to spend $6 MarchCongressandtheagenciessixmonthsintothefiscaltrillion dollars than you might think.The FY24 funding bills approved by Congress and signed by the president provide tax dollars to the U.S. Coast Guard($13billion),theMaritime Administration($980million),the Small Business Administration ($5.6 billion),theArmyCorpsofEngi-neers($7.4billion),andeveryother federalgovernmentagencythatyou can name. Every dollar that the gov-ernmentspendsisappropriatedby Congress. The power of the purse is a check and balance that the founders wrote into the Constitution. Allocating funds for the government to spend is one of the most important functions of the U.S. Congress. The congressionalappropriationsprocess isanannualandvitalobligationof Congressand,whileconfusing,is worth understanding.Eachyear,usuallyinFebruary,the president submits a proposed budget to Congress that outlines the admin-istrationsfundingprioritiesforthe coming fiscal year (Oct. 1Sept. 30). After Congress receives the presidents budget, the 12 subcommittees of the AppropriationsCommitteebegin theirworkbyholdinghearingsand inviting Cabinet secretaries and agen-cy officials to testify in support of the administrations budget proposal.FOGHORN 32'