Working the Federal Budget

What do nude beaches and catfish have to do with the federal budget? Quite a bit, it turns out. Working the Federal Budget fills the need for an unvarnished, readable guide to how the federal government collects money and spends it. Centuries of political struggles over the size and funding of government have produced a dense set of budget-related laws, procedures, court decisions and outright improvisations. The resulting rules are legion, complex, and remain a secret to many. In this book, author George D. Krumbhaar unravels the complexity with a journalist’s eye for clarity and a lawyer’s eye for detail, explaining the system, plainly laying out the laws that lie behind it, and identifying the players that are central to decision making at various stages in the process.

With chapters covering the grandiose (why we have such big deficits) and the picayune (PAYGO and its importance) in fascinating and often entertaining detail, Working the Federal Budget provides an invaluable and critical exploration of the who, the what, and the why of the budget process for readers with an interest in government relations and how the government functions—whether from Capitol Hill, the executive branch, “K Street,” postgraduate studies or even civic concern.

Author Biography

George D. Krumbhaar is Adjunct Professor of Policy in the Heinz School of Information Systems, Public Policy, and Management at Carnegie Mellon University, USA. After graduating from Columbia Law School, George served in the Treasury Department’s Office of General Counsel, on Capitol Hill as Minority (Republican) Counsel to the Joint Economic Committee, Director of Domestic Policy for Senator John Glenn (D-OH), Chief of Staff for Representative Bill Orton (D-UT), and Associate Staff of the House Budget Committee. In each of these capacities, George covered a wide range of legislative issue areas, concentrating in budget, tax and appropriations. He was one of many who helped with the passage of the original Congressional Budget Act, and participated on a staff level in the debate over the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. George is the founder of USBudget.com, and wrote more than 5,000 articles for that publication. In addition to his law degree, George has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a Master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He has served on the board of Directors of the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis since 2002. He is a member of the DC Bar.