A concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2027 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2028 through 2036.

Enumerated powers · passes

The Constitution grants Congress the power to lay and collect taxes, pay debts, and provide for the common defense and general welfare (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1). The budget resolution is a direct exercise of Congress's power of the purse, which is central to its enumerated authority. The resolution sets spending and revenue levels, which are within the scope of this power. The reconciliation instructions direct committees to propose legislation, but the final legislation must still be passed by both houses and signed by the President, ensuring that any actual changes to law remain within Congress's enumerated powers.

Bill of Rights · passes

The resolution itself does not infringe on any of the first ten amendments. It is a budgetary framework and does not regulate speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, searches, seizures, self-incrimination, due process, takings, trial rights, or cruel and unusual punishment. The resolution's provisions are procedural and do not directly affect individual rights. However, the reconciliation instructions could lead to legislation that might affect rights, but that would be evaluated separately when such legislation is proposed.

Individual liberty · passes

The resolution does not directly restrict what individuals can do with their person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It sets budgetary levels and provides instructions for future legislation. While the budget may affect individuals through taxation and spending, the resolution itself does not impose direct restrictions on individual freedom. The burden of justification for any future legislation that might restrict individual sovereignty would be on the government, but this resolution does not itself cross that line.

Decentralization · raises concerns · severity: minor

The federal budget is inherently a federal function, and the Constitution assigns the power of the purse to Congress. However, the resolution consolidates decision-making at the federal level for a wide range of spending categories, including areas that could be handled by states or localities. The four-question test: (1) individuals cannot handle the federal budget, (2) local communities cannot handle the federal budget, (3) states cannot handle the federal budget, but (4) the resolution does consolidate decision-making at the federal level, which is the minimum necessary for a national budget. The resolution fails the fourth question because it centralizes decisions on many spending areas that could be left to states or localities, but this is a structural feature of the federal budget process. The severity is minor because the resolution is a framework, not a direct action that overrides state authority.

Due process and takings · passes

The resolution does not bypass due process or take property without just compensation. It is a legislative framework that sets spending and revenue levels. The reconciliation instructions require committees to submit recommendations, which will go through the normal legislative process, including debate and amendment. The resolution does not itself deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor does it take private property for public use without just compensation. The Fifth Amendment's protections are not implicated by this resolution.