The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (P.L. 67-13; 42 Stat. 20), as amended and later codified in the U.S. Code , requires the President to submit a consolidated federal budget annually to Congress toward the beginning of each regular session. Under Title 31 of the U.S. Code , the President must submit the budget—which contains budgetary estimates, proposals, and other required reports—to Congress on or after the first Monday in January, but no later than the first Monday in February. In addition to providing budgetary estimates and other required reports, the President's budget is a compilation of the President's proposed spending levels and selected policy recommendations. Congress is not required to adopt the President's proposals or recommendations. Nevertheless, the budget is one of the President's most important policy tools. While it is not legally binding, the President's budget typically initiates the congressional budget process and informs Congress of the President's recommended spending levels for agencies and programs. For this reason, the content and timing of the President's budget submission may be of particular interest to Members of Congress, congressional committees, and congressional staff. This report begins with a brief overview of the origins and typical content of the President's budget. This report also provides information on the statutory deadlines for submission to Congress and the submission dates of the President's budget for FY1923-FY2017. The President's consolidated, annual budget submission to Congress, or the Budget of the United States Government as it is referred to in statute, is referred to in this report as "the President's budget." Prior to the enactment of the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the executive budget process was highly decentralized. Until the mid-to-late 1800s, agencies typically submitted their budget requests directly to Congress, frequently with little or no involvement by the President. In subsequent years, individual agency requests were compiled by the Department of the Treasury and submitted to Congress as the Book of Estimates . While the Book of Estimates may have served as an efficient means of transmitting multiple budget requests to Congress as a single package, it was not a consolidated federal budget. Initially, the compilation and submission of the "Book of Estimates" was a matter of custom and practice by some, but not all, agencies within the executive branch. Agencies were not required to submit their budget requests to the Treasury, and many continued to submit their requests directly to Congress. In the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, a series of laws were enacted that prohibited agencies from submitting their budget requests directly to Congress. For example, in 1884 a law was enacted that required that "all estimates of appropriations ... shall be transmitted to Congress through the Secretary of the Treasury, and in no other manner." In 1901, a law was enacted that required executive departments to submit their requests to the Secretary of the Treasury "on or before the 15 th of October of each year." Under the 1901 act, the Secretary of the Treasury was then required to compile all agency requests and submit them as part of the "Book of Estimates" no later than the first day of November. While these acts required the Secretary to transmit all agency requests as a single package, each request was developed independently. Involvement and direction by the President were minimal, and there was little if any coordination amongst agencies. In 1910, President William H. Taft created the Commission on Economy and Efficiency. One of the primary purposes of the commission was to develop and propose reforms to the executive budget process. The current structure, format, and content of the President's budget submission are similar to those that were proposed by the Taft Commission on Economy and Efficiency in 1912. In a report titled The Need for a National Budget , the commission recommended that the President submit to Congress a consolidated budget consisting in part of (1) a budget message, (2) a consolidated financial report containing revenues and expenditures for each executive department for the previous five fiscal years, (3) the President's proposed revenues and expenditures for the next fiscal year, and (4) detailed information supporting the President's recommendations. Since 1921, the required contents of the President's budget have been modified and expanded by statutes such as the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 and the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. The current requirements are discussed in the next section of this report. The President's budget typically provides detailed estimates of the financial operations of federal agencies and programs, the President's budgetary and legislative recommendations, and other information supporting the President's recommendations. Under Title 31 of the U.S. Code , the President's budget must include, in part, estimated receipts, expenditures, and proposed appropriations for the next five fiscal years; actual receipts, expenditures, and appropriations for the previous fiscal year; information on the public debt; separate statements of amounts for specified appropriations accounts and trust funds; and when practicable, information on costs and performance of federal programs and activities. The President is responsible for developing budgetary estimates and proposed appropriations for executive branch agencies. In practice, the President has delegated many of the tasks and authorities necessary for developing the budget to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). For example, OMB issues guidance to executive agencies instructing them on the process, format, and deadlines for submitting their budget requests to OMB. OMB officials are also responsible for reviewing agencies' budget requests to ensure that they are consistent with the President's policy objectives, and advising the President on recommended budgetary levels. The President's budget must also contain budgetary estimates and proposals for the legislative and judicial branches. These estimates and proposals are developed by the legislative and judicial branches, and are then transmitted to the President and submitted, without change, as part of the President's budget submission. Similar procedures apply to select independent agencies and government-sponsored enterprises (e.g., U.S. International Trade Commission, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Federal National Mortgage Association). Additionally, certain agencies (e.g., Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Securities and Exchange Commission, and National Transportation Safety Board) are required by statute to submit their budget proposals directly to Congress, without review or alteration by the President or OMB. In some cases, the agency submits its budget only to Congress, while in other cases the agency must submit its budget to OMB and Congress concurrently. There are a number of reports that are required to be submitted along with, or at the same time as, the President's budget. For example, the President is required to submit an annual federal government performance plan for the overall budget. The structure and format of the President's budget have varied by President, but in recent years, the President's budget has been submitted in multiple volumes. The size and composition of these budget volumes have varied from administration to administration. The budget submissions of the past three Presidents have each included the following volumes: Budget of the U.S. Government , Historical Tables , Analytical Perspectives , and Appendix . In addition, recent submissions have been accompanied by supplemental materials and supporting documents that are typically made available only in electronic form. Budget of the U.S. Government. 26 The Budget of the U.S. Government volume typically begins with a short budget message, addressed to Congress, which summarizes the President's policy priorities. The Budget volume also includes summary tables of budgetary aggregates and estimates of the effects of the President's proposals on the deficit, among others. The summary tables typically provide information for each of the fiscal years covered by the President's budget. The summary tables in the FY2017 Budget volume, for example, cover FY2015 through FY2026. In addition, the Budget volume includes detailed narrative descriptions of proposed government activities and programs. In previous years, the Budget volume was organized by executive department (e.g., Department of Agriculture) and also contained information on selected independent agencies (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency). Beginning in FY2016, however, the Department-specific information was replaced with extended discussions of policy issues. In FY2017, the Budget volume discusses several national security issues, which it terms "today's challenges" (e.g., destroying ISIL, strengthening federal cybersecurity). In addition, the Budget volume discusses several longer-term policy challenges (e.g., climate change, education, transportation, infrastructure) and related initiatives that the President has proposed to potentially address those issues. As with his previous budget submissions, President Obama's budget submission for FY2017 also outlines a set of proposed "Cuts, Consolidations, and Savings." Historical Tables. 30 The Historical Tables volume provides a historical overview of federal government finances, including time series statistics on budget authority, government receipts, outlays, government employment, economic statistics, and the federal debt going back several decades and in some cases as far back as 1789. Generally, the tables provide data through the fiscal year covered by the President's budget. According to OMB, to the extent possible, the data provided in the historical tables are adjusted to provide consistency and comparability over the period of time covered. Analytical Perspectives. 34 Since FY1995, the President's budget submission has included an Analytical Perspectives volume, which contains in-depth analysis of government programs, including credit and insurance programs, discussion of crosscut budgets (i.e., budgets that span two or more agencies), and technical explanation of the budget baseline used in the analyses and estimates contained in the President's budget, among other items. In recent years, this volume has also included a "Budget Concepts" chapter, which provides an overview of the budget process and a "Glossary of Budget Terms" that are used in the President's budget. Additionally, many of the reports that are required to be submitted along with, at the same time as, or near the same time as, the President's budget are provided within the Analytical Perspectives volume.