The Prominence of Partisanship in the Congressional Budget Process

Abstract

Partisanship in Congress plays an extremely important role in the construction of the national budget. The congressional budget process has increasingly found itself polarized along partisan lines in recent years. Districts represented by Democratic members of Congress are significantly different demographically and politically from those represented by Republicans. This dynamic has the potential to dramatically influence the manner in which Congress attempts to budget. Given the checks and balances of the American political system, compromise is a necessary element of the congressional budget process. Partisanship is thereby a necessary component in the congressional budget process, but a component that must conduct itself within the boundaries of the American political system.