It is in committee, and not on the floor, where legislation is crafted. There are 13 appropriations subcommittees in each chamber of Congress. The appropriations bills must work their way through each chamber, from subcommittee to the full appropriations committee to the floor, then repeat the process on the other side. The House and Senate then hold a conference to reconcile their versions of a bill, hold a final vote in each chamber, and then send it to the President for signing. Ideally, this process is completed before the new fiscal year begins on October 1.
Authorization bills determine science policy and guide funding.
Authorizing committees hold oversight hearings to review, revise and extend existing programs and approve new ones. The bills that come out of an authorizing committee provide funding caps or guidelines for federal programs. While in theory, appropriators are supposed to be guided by authorizing legislation when determining federal funding, in reality they do not necessarily heed the authorizers, and many authorization bills never make it out of committee and into law. However, authorization bills, if they are timely, can often influence funding for a project or agency. If you do not have access to our Web site, please contact us and we will mail or fax you the rosters needed.