Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2009. Balances of Budget Authority

摘要

Government agencies are permitted to enter into obligations that result in immediate or future outlays only when the agencies have been granted authority to do so by law. This authority is recorded as budget authority in the year that it first becomes available. Not all budget authority enacted for a fiscal year results in obligations and outlays in the same year. This analysis presents summary information on the unexpended balances of budget authority for the end of 2007, 2008, and 2009 as shown in the 2009 Budget Appendix. Unexpended balances of budget authority are the sum of obligated and unobligated balances. Unobligated balances are the amounts of budget authority that have not yet been committed by contract or other legally binding action by the government. Obligated balances are the amounts of unpaid obligations (i.e. undelivered orders and accounts payable) that are net of accounts receivable and unfilled customer orders.