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tions are not counted as budget receipts, and, with one exception, are offset against total budget authority and outlays by agency and by function. The exception consists of receipts from rents and royalties from Outer Continental Shelf lands that are deducted from total budget authority and outlays for the Government as a whole rather than from any single agency or function. • Intragovernmental transactions.—These are payments into receipt accounts from Federal appropriations or fund accounts. They are treated as an offset to budget authority and outlays, rather than as a budget receipt. Intragovernmental transactions may either be intrabudgetary (where the payment and receipt both occur within the budgetary universe) or result from receipts from offbudget Federal entities in those cases where the payment is made by a Federal entity whose funds are excluded from the budget totals. Normally, intragovernmental transactions are deducted from both the outlays and the budget authority for the agency receiving the payment. However, in two cases intragovernmental transactions are not deducted from the figures of any agency or function. Instead, intragovernmental transactions that involve agencies' payments (including payments by off-budget Federal entities) as employers into trust funds for retirement of employees and the payment of interest to trust (nonrevolving) funds appear as special deduct lines in computing total budget authority and outlays for the Government. Intrabudgetary transactions are further subdivided into three categories: (1) interfund transactions, where the payment is from one fund group (either Federal funds or trust funds) to a receipt account in the other fund group; (2) Federal intrafund transactions, in those cases where the payment and receipt both occur within the Federal fund group; and (3) trust intrafund transactions, in those cases where the payment and receipt both occur within the trust fund group.

OTHER TRANSACTIONS

Borrowing and repayments.-Borrowing and debt repayment are not treated as receipts or outlays; if they were, the budget could be balanced simply by borrowing. This rule applies both to borrowing in the form of public debt securities and to specialized forms of borrowing—such as the sale of agency securities, the assumption of military family housing mortgages, and certificates representing participation in a pool of loans. However, there are transactions that otherwise would be treated as borrowing which are required by law to be treated as a sale of assets. This results in collections being credited to an appropriation or fund account with a corresponding reduction in outlays.

Exercise of the monetary power.—Seigniorage is the profit from coining money; it is the difference between the value of coins as money and their cost, including the cost of manufacturing. Seigniorage on coins arises from the exercise of the Government's monetary powers and differs from receipts coming from the public, since there is no corresponding payment by another party. Therefore, seigniorage is excluded from receipts and treated as a means of financing a budget deficit, or as a supplementary amount to be applied to reduce debt or to increase the cash in Treasury in the years of a budget surplus. The increment (profit) resulting from the revaluation of gold as a monetary asset is treated like seigniorage, but the profit from sale of gold as a commodity is treated as a proprietary receipt.

Liabilities in deposit fund accounts.-Accounts outside the budget, known as deposit funds, are established to record certain amounts held in suspense temporarily, or held by the Government as agent for others (for example, savings accounts for military personnel, State and local income taxes withheld from Federal employees’ salaries, and payroll deductions for the purchase of savings bonds by civilian employees of the Government). Such transactions affect Treasury's cash balances even though they are not a part of the budget.

Exchange of cash.-The Government's deposits with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are considered similar to cash assets. Therefore, the movement of money between the IMF and the Department of the Treasury is not in itself considered a receipt or an outlay, borrowing or lending. In a similar manner, the holdings of foreign currency by the Exchange stabilization fund (ESF)—an offbudget Federal entity—are considered as cash assets. Changes in these holdings would be considered outlays only to the extent there is a loss, and offsetting collections only to the extent there is a profit on the exchange.

Obligations to international lending organizations.—Debt instruments issued (in lieu of checks) in payment of subscriptions to international lending organizations are not considered borrowing or outlays, but remain a part of the obligated balances until they are cashed, at which time they become outlays. These differ only in form, and not in substance, from ordinary balances for unpaid obligations.

BASIS FOR BUDGET FIGURES

In general.-Outlays are stated in terms of checks issued, including cash paid in lieu of checks, net of offsetting collections received. The accrual basis is generally used for interest on the public debt held by private investors; however, interest on the public debt held by trust and other Government accounts was converted to a cash basis during the transition quarter, and will remain on a cash basis for future years. When debt securities are issued at a discount (or at a premium), the difference between the sales price and the redemption value is treated as interest and is accrued evenly over time in the account that issues the securities. In addition, budget schedules for the Department of Energy include data for all 3 years, although the Department was not established until fiscal year 1978. The budget schedules for the agencies or parts thereof merged into the Department of Energy omit data applicable to activities transferred to the Department, and appropriate information is presented in the Department of Energy schedules to identify the predecessor accounts.

260-000 O - 78 - 19

Data for 1977.-The 1977 column of this budget generally presents the actual transactions and balances as recorded in agency accounts and as summarized in the central financial reports prepared by the Department of the Treasury. However, the budget totals have been revised retroactively to include the transactions of the Housing for the elderly or handicapped fund and to reflect the treatment of amounts of earned income credit in excess of tax liabilities as negative budget receipts instead of as budget outlays.

Data for 1978.-All regular appropriation acts for 1978 have become law, except for the Labor, Health, Education, and Welfare, and District of Columbia appropriations bills. A continuing resolution has been enacted to provide appropriations for continued operation of the affected agencies. Also, some supplemental appropriations and rescissions are pending before the Congress, and additional supplemental appropriations will be required in certain cases. The additional supplementals represent the amounts required for various pay raises including those of October 1977 and the additional amounts requested to meet previously unforeseen program costs.

Where the word “enacted” is used with reference to 1978, as in tables 1 and 5 of Part 9 of the Budget, the amount represents budget authority already voted by the Congress. In the case of indefinite appropriations, the enacted sums include the amounts likely to be required. Actions “pending” before the Congress include supplemental appropriations and rescission proposals that are awaiting congressional action. “Appropriations transmitted herein” include amounts for unenacted appropriations for which appropriation language is provided, whether these amounts will be included in regular or supplemental appropriation bills. Where the word “estimate” is used, the amounts may include pending appropriations, needed supplementals, and enacted budget authority. Certain standard footnotes are used in Part 8 of the Budget (and are explained at the end of that part) to specify the status of these additional items for 1978.

Data for 1979.-This budget is complete as to the estimates for 1979. Part I of the Budget Appendiz generally includes the proposed appropriation language for the various items identified in the budget. However, in some instances, estimates are included in the budget schedules without appropriation language for 1978 and 1979. For these, the requested amounts may already be pending, proposed legislation may be required, or the estimated amounts will be requested later when the requirements are known. In certain tables of the budget these items for later transmittal and the related outlays are separately identified. Estimates of the total requirements for 1978 and 1979 include both the amounts formally proposed and the amounts planned for later transmittal.

Allowances.—Lump sum allowances are included in the tables to cover possible additional changes, such as civilian pay increases and contingencies. The allowance for civilian agency pay raises includes an estimate of the additional amounts that will be required for pay raises anticipated in October 1978 for employees of civilian Government agencies. A separate allowance for pay raises is shown for the military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense and is included in its figures. These increases could not be reflected in the various program appropriation requests since the applicable detailed amounts have not yet been determined.

The allowance for contingencies is shown in two categories, as required by the Congressional Budget Act. The estimates in the first category, “Relatively uncontrollable programs,” are zero because the probability of net decreases or net increases for such programs is believed to be equal. The second category, “Other requirements,” contains estimates for requirements not now foreseen for existing programs and for the possible enactment of legislation not specifically provided for in the budget.

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