Federal Budgetary Concepts and Related Terms

Budget authority. This refers to the funding authority conferred by federal law to incur financial obligations that will result in outlays. The basic forms of budget authority are appropriations, contract authority, and borrowing authority.

Obligations. Federal obligations represent the dollar amounts for orders placed, contracts and grants awarded, services received, and similar transactions during a given period, regardless of when funds were appropriated or payment was required.

Outlays. Federal outlays represent the dollar amounts for checks issued and cash payments made during a given period, regardless of when funds were appropriated or obligated.

R&D plant. In general, R&D plant refers to the acquisition of, construction of, major repairs to, or alterations in structures, works, equipment, facilities, or land for use in R&D activities. Data included in this section refer to obligated federal dollars for R&D plant.