Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its annual House and Senate reports listing the various FY 2002 appropriations whose authorization has expired or will expire before the start of FY 2003.

Though it is often true that such programs get funded each year long after their authorizing language has expired, technically, such action requires a vote in each house of Congress. In practice, this means that programs whose authorization has expired can be used to force a debate on spending priorities -- a likely event in the coming budget process, as estimates of the FY 2002 budget deficit range from $40 - $70 billion. Though mandatory or "direct spending" programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, usually receive permanent authorization, CBO notes that others such as the Food Stamp program, "require periodic renewal."

For a list of which of the FY 2002 appropriations appear on CBO's list of expired or expiring authorizations, see the CBO reports