While the three presidents who had the choice of submitting an outgoing budget chose not to, both Presidents’ George H.W. Bush and Clinton played a critical role in the development of their successor’s budget through the use of a “transition budget” volume to Congress. Both wanted to create a document that would outline historical data, baseline budget projections, and illustrations of those projections using variations of economic assumptions and vastly different broad assumptions.
Formalized Budget Transition History
While a formal presidential transition process originated during the transition from President Truman to President-elect Eisenhower, President-elect Kennedy was the first to establish formal transition teams—29 task forces in …show more content…
Due to the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, the president’s budget is required to be submitted not later than the first Monday in February, meaning that an outgoing president can wait for his successor to submit a budget.
Nevertheless, OMB and the federal agencies must collect a large amount of data and make significant preparations in order to allow the incoming president to submit a budget proposal in their first months in office. In April 2008, OMB Director Jim Nussle informed the agencies that although the Fiscal Year 2010 budget would be submitted by the next president, “we intend to prepare a budget database that includes a complete current services baseline…from which the incoming Administration can develop its budget proposals.” This information helped inform President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget request, an overview of which was submitted to Congress one month after taking …show more content…
For this reason, it is critical that the president-elect select a budget and policy staff early to prepare the budget submission. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) career staff is well prepared and motivated to help the president-elect’s team translate priorities into a new budget. This will be one of the new administration’s first opportunities to work with the nonpartisan civil servants who serve with expertise and dedication across the federal
Formalized Budget Transition History
While a formal presidential transition process originated during the transition from President Truman to President-elect Eisenhower, President-elect Kennedy was the first to establish formal transition teams—29 task forces in …show more content…
Due to the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, the president’s budget is required to be submitted not later than the first Monday in February, meaning that an outgoing president can wait for his successor to submit a budget.
Nevertheless, OMB and the federal agencies must collect a large amount of data and make significant preparations in order to allow the incoming president to submit a budget proposal in their first months in office. In April 2008, OMB Director Jim Nussle informed the agencies that although the Fiscal Year 2010 budget would be submitted by the next president, “we intend to prepare a budget database that includes a complete current services baseline…from which the incoming Administration can develop its budget proposals.” This information helped inform President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget request, an overview of which was submitted to Congress one month after taking …show more content…
For this reason, it is critical that the president-elect select a budget and policy staff early to prepare the budget submission. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) career staff is well prepared and motivated to help the president-elect’s team translate priorities into a new budget. This will be one of the new administration’s first opportunities to work with the nonpartisan civil servants who serve with expertise and dedication across the federal