Introduction Making decisions about the federal budget is a complex and difficult process.
When the President and members of Congress make annual decisions about government spending, they establish priorities, balance competing interests and make difficult trade-offs in a highly politicized milieu. They must take into account the particular economic environment of the times, such as deficits in the 1980s and much of the 1990s, surpluses in recent years. They often work with imperfect information and are forced to make plans based on assumptions that may never be realized. Public attitudes are one of many important considerations for policymakers, but given the complexity of the process, it is not surprising that decisions often do not reflect public preferences. Election year 2000 could almost be called the year of the budget makers.