The authority for congressional review and approval of the District of Columbia's budget is derived from the Constitution and the District of Columbia Self-Government and Government Reorganization Act of 1973 (Home Rule Act). The Constitution gives Congress the power to "exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever" pertaining to the District of Columbia. In 1973, Congress granted the city limited home rule authority and empowered citizens of the District to elect a mayor and city council. However, Congress retained the authority to review and approve all District laws, including the District's annual budget. As required by the Home Rule Act, the city council must approve a budget within 56 days after receiving a budget proposal from the mayor. The approved budget must then be transmitted to the President, who forwards it to Congress for its review, modification, and approval through the annual appropriations process. The District of Columbia's budget is included in the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill. Congress not only appropriates federal payments to the District to fund certain activities, but also reviews, and may modify, the District's entire budget, including the expenditure of local funds as outlined in the District's Home Rule Act. Since FY2006, the District's appropriations act has been included in a multi-agency appropriations bill; before FY2006 the District budget was considered by the House and the Senate as a stand-alone bill. It is currently included in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act (FSGG). District of Columbia appropriations acts typically include the following three components: 1. Special federal payments appropriated by Congress to be used to fund particular initiatives or activities of interest to Congress or the Administration. 2. The District's operating budget , which includes funds to cover the day-to-day functions, activities, and responsibilities of the government, enterprise funds that provide for the operation and maintenance of government facilities or services that are entirely or primarily supported by user-based fees, and long-term capital outlays such as road improvements. District operating budget expenditures are paid for by revenues generated through local taxes (sales and income), federal funds for which the District qualifies, and fees and other sources of funds. 3. General provisions are typically the third component of the District's budget reviewed and approved by Congress. These provisions can be grouped into several distinct but overlapping categories with the most predominant being provisions relating to fiscal and budgetary directives and controls. Other provisions include administrative directives and controls, limitations on lobbying for statehood or congressional voting representation, congressional oversight, and congressionally imposed restrictions and prohibitions related to social policy. On February 13, 2012, the Obama Administration released its detailed budget request for FY2013. The Administration's proposed budget included $677.8 million in special federal payments to the District of Columbia, which was $12.2 million more than the District's FY2012 appropriation of $665.6 million. Approximately 78% ($526.7 million) of the President's proposed budget request for the District would have been targeted to the courts and criminal justice system. This includes $219.6 million in support of court operations; $49.9 million for Defender Services; $215.5 million for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia, an independent federal agency responsible for the District's pretrial services, adult probation, and parole supervision functions; $1.8 million for the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; $39.4 million for the public defender's office; and $500,000 to cover costs associated with investigating judicial misconduct complaints and recommending candidates to the President for vacancies to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the District of Columbia Superior Court. The President's budget request also included $95.6 million in support of education initiatives, including $60 million to support elementary and secondary education, $500,000 to support the D.C. National Guard college access program, and $35.1 million for college tuition assistance. This represented 14% of the Administration's federal payment budget request for the District of Columbia. On March 23, 2012, the mayor of the District of Columbia submitted a proposed budget to the District of Columbia Council. On May 15, 2012, the council approved an FY2013 budget that included $11.4 billion in operating funds and $1.1 billion in capital outlays. The mayor signed the measure (A19-0381) on June 15, 2012. Included in the act was a provision that would have granted the District some level of budget autonomy in the expenditure of local funds if Congress failed to pass and the President failed sign a District of Columbia appropriations act before the beginning of the 2013 fiscal year. The provision would have allowed the District to obligate and expend local funds at the rate set forth in the act during the period in which there is an absence of a federal appropriations act authorizing the expenditure of local funds. Similar language was included in the bill, S. 3301, reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The provision was also supported by the Administration. The House and Senate FSGG bills (H.R. 6020 and S. 3301) considered during the 112 th Congress, P.L. 112-175 (six-month continuing resolution), and P.L. 113-6 (full year FY2013 appropriations) all included language that referenced the District's FY2013 budget submission for purposes of congressional review and approval. On June 14, 2012, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 3301, its version of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for FY2013, with an accompanying report (S. Rept. 112-177). As reported, the bill recommended $676.2 million in special federal payments to the District. This was $10.6 million more than appropriated for FY2012, and $1.6 million more than requested by the Administration. The bill included $5.7 million more in funding for court operations than requested by the Administration, but $7.4 million less than appropriated in FY2012. It would have appropriated $6.5 million less than the President's FY2013 request or the FY2012 appropriated amount for elementary and secondary education initiatives. These funds would have been allocated among three specific initiatives: public school improvements, support for public charter schools, and funding a private school voucher program. The Administration's budget request did not include funding the school voucher program. As noted above, S. 3301 included a provision that would have allowed the District to obligate and expend locally raised funds in the absence of congressional approval of a District of Columbia appropriations act. The Senate bill's general provisions mirror some of the language included in the House bill. Like the House bill, S. 3301 included provisions governing budgetary and fiscal operations and controls. It also included provisions restricting or prohibiting the use of federal funds to support District statehood or congressional voting representation, including provisions that would have continued prohibiting the use of federal funds to support or defeat any legislation being considered by Congress or a state legislature; cover salaries, expenses, and other costs associated with the office of Statehood Representative and Statehood Senator for the District of Columbia; and support efforts by the District of Columbia Attorney General or any other officer of the District government to provide assistance for any petition drive or civil action seeking voting representation in Congress for citizens of the District. The bill also included changes in three provisions that city officials had sought to eliminate or modify. The bill would have lifted the prohibition on the use of District funds to provide abortion services, but would have continued the prohibition against the use of federal funds; prohibited the use of federal funds to regulate and decriminalize the medical use of marijuana; and maintained the prohibition on the use of federal funds to support a needle exchange program. On June 26, 2012, a House Appropriations Committee approved the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2013, H.R. 6020 , with an accompanying report ( H. Rept. 112-550 ). The bill included $673.7 million in special federal payments to the District. This was $12.2 million more than appropriated for FY2012, $4.1 million less than requested by the Obama Administration and $2.5 million less than recommended by the Senate bill. The bill included a substantial increase ($12.5 million) in the amount requested by the Administration for court operations, and a $5.1 million reduction in the amount that would have been appropriated for the Resident Tuition Support (college access) program. The bill also would have directed $60 million in funding to support the District of Columbia Public Schools ($20 million), public charter schools ($20 million), and private school vouchers ($20 million). Like its Senate counterpart, the House bill included several general provisions governing budgetary and fiscal operations and controls including prohibiting deficit spending within budget accounts, establishing restrictions on the reprogramming of funds, and allowing the transfer of local funds to capital and enterprise fund accounts. In addition, the bill would have required the city's Chief Financial Officer to submit a revised operating budget for all District government agencies and the District public schools within 30 days after the passage of the bill. The House bill also included several general provisions relating to statehood or congressional representation for the District, including provisions that would have continued prohibiting the use of federal funds to support or defeat any legislation being considered by Congress or a state legislature; cover salaries, expenses, and other costs associated with the office of Statehood Representative and Statehood Senator for the District of Columbia; and support efforts by the District of Columbia Attorney General or any other officer of the District government to provide assistance for any petition drive or civil action seeking voting representation in Congress for citizens of the District. Unlike the Senate bill, H.R. 6020 would have prohibited the use of both District and federal funds for abortion service. In addition, the bill would have continued to prohibit the use of federal funds to administer needle exchange or to decriminalize or regulate the medical use of marijuana.