The federal budget process: Turning reform into political reality
Past Event
Fixing a flawed federal budget process

Fixing a flawed federal budget process

Overcoming political obstacles in reforming the federal budget process
The federal budget process has become dysfunctional in recent years, resulting in inefficiencies in resource allocation, unpredictable appropriations for agencies, and is lacking in both transparency and accountability. Convincing lawmakers that it is within their interest to reform the process is perhaps a more challenging endeavor than determining which reforms would be most effective.
On October 18, the National Academy of Public Administration and Economic Studies hosted a discussion of proposals to address the problems with the federal budget process, and how reform might be achieved. Panelists provided insights from their experience and from political science to identify the strategies and scenarios that are most likely to result in successfully reforming the budget process.
Follow us on Twitter @BrookingsEcon.
The speakers referred to several publications during the event, including:
- Steve Redburn and Paul Posner’s “Memo to National Leaders” on reforming the federal budget process (Word doc download)
- “Proposals for Improving the Congressional Budget Process” by Alice M. Rivlin and Pete Domenici (PDF)
- Brookings “Reimagining the Federal Budget Process” series
Agenda
Breakfast
Welcome
Dan G. Blair
President and CEO - National Academy of Public Administration
Session 1: Fixing a Flawed Federal Budget Process
F. Stevens Redburn
Professorial Lecturer in Public Policy and Public Administration - George Washington University
Phil Joyce
Senior Associate Dean, Professor of Public Policy - University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy
Session 2: Overcoming Political Obstacles in Reforming the Federal Budget Process
Roy Meyers
Professor of Political Science - University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Bill Hoagland
Senior Vice President - Bipartisan Policy Center
Alice M. Rivlin
Former Brookings Expert
Closing Remarks
More Information
To subscribe or manage your subscriptions to our top event topic lists, please visit our event topics page.