The CBR serves as a fiscal guide for all congressional committees and is supposed to be completed by April 15. A resolution, the CBR must be passed by both the House and Senate, but it is not signed by the president and does not have the force of law. Implementation of the budget goals outlined in the CBR is through the 13 annual appropriations bills and any changes Congress makes to entitlement programs. Constant dollars are used to compare real or inflation-adjusted changes in budgets because they discount increases or decreases in prices over a period of time. Examples include defense, energy, international affairs.
Discretionary programs consume about one-third of overall federal spending.
Compare to mandatory spending. The government's fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 30th and is designated by the calendar year in which it ends. The FYDP is the basis for the annual defense budget request. Under the law, the president was granted the power to eliminate a particular line or program within an appropriations bill. Because Congress granted the president the line-item veto for the purpose of deficit reduction, any savings from cutting programs in the defense budget would go to the Treasury to reduce the defense budget.