2302+Spring+2009+Week+Ten


 * The Executive: Contemporary Issues**


 * The Budget**

As you should know from following the news, President Obama introduced the 2010 budget recently. And what a budget it is. Below you see a handful lof sites related to proposed budget, as well as the nature and history of the budgetary process. The purpose of this week's reading is to get you familiar with the process by which the budget is assembled by the executive and processed by the legislature. We will look at some of the unique issues facing the country as the budget attempts to deal with ongoing short term problems associated with the economy, and the long term problems of making the budget sustainable.


 * Sources**

- [|The Office of Management and Budget]. - [|The Congressional Budget Office]. - [|General Accountability Office]. - OMB: [|The President's Budget]. - [|The Senate Budget Committee]. - [|The House Budget Committee]. - [|Budget of the United States Main Page]. - [|The Budgetary Process]. - Columbia University: [|The Budgetary Process]. - About.com: [|A simple description of the process]. - [|US Budget Watch]. - Google News: [|US Budget 2010]. - [|The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]. - Texas: [|Legislative Budget Board]. - [|Brazoria County 2009 Budget]. - [|Texas Budget Source].


 * Assignments**

Internet Students

Write at least 150 words for each of the following:

1 - Detail the function of both the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office. What does each do? Provide a brief background of their respective directors. 2 - President Obama's proposed budget has generalted a lot of discussion. Using news sourses I want you to determine what is so controversial about it? What arguments exist in support of it? What arguments exist against it? 3 - Outline the federal budgetary process and determine where the proposed 2010 Federal Budget is along the process. Using news sources, determine what types of obstacles lie before it. How might it be alterened before it passes into law? 4 - How are the budgetary processes, and the budgets themselves, of the state of Texas and local government different than that of the national government?

Due March 27

Lecture Students--stay tuned Multiple Choice Quiz