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Assignment 1: Policy Brief
The Federal Budget and how it gets made is a complex and lengthy process that has important implications for Federal and State agencies. Obviously, funding for each agency is going to affect that agency’s budget. Likewise, federal funding for social programs, education, and other programs such as disaster relief affects how states fund those programs in their own budgets. Using the e-Activity from Week 1, “2017 America First – A Blueprint to Make America Great Again”, compare the federal budget with the budget of one of the departments listed below and note how they are interconnected.
- “Department of Energy”
- “Department of Commerce”
- “Department of Defense”
- “Department of Education”
- “Department of Homeland Security”
- “Social Security Administration”
In a two- to three-page paper (not including cover and reference page), address the following:
- Summarize the mission and budget of the department you selected.
- Does the proposed budget of the department you chose include policy actions to reduce the deficit in the near future?
- Does the proposed budget put the government on a path to reduce the federal debt within a decade to a sustainable percentage of GDP?
- Does the proposed budget align revenues and spending closely over the long term?
- Does the proposed budget restrain major entitlement programs or introduce changes in spending and tax policies that will have cumulative beneficial fiscal effects over time?