Political vocabulary & government processes · Article 13 of 20 · United States
Appropriation
Legal authority to spend public money.
What the term means
An appropriation provides budget authority for specified federal purposes. Authorization laws may create programs, but agencies generally need appropriations or another lawful funding source to spend money.
How it works in practice
Funding can be limited by purpose, amount and time. Agencies cannot ordinarily treat a political announcement as permission to spend without legal authority.
A concrete example
Congress might authorize a research program but fund it below the authorized level, limiting how many grants an agency can award.
What to examine next
Separate a program’s legal authorization from its actual appropriation and expenditures.
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