In major legislation, the Congress is often very particular about how much money certain agencies and departments will get for specific programs. But then there are times when lawmakers just make it an undetermined amount.
The phrase that gets used is, "such sums as may be necessary."
The compromise Farm Bill that was easily approved by the House on Wednesday had a series of such instructions, like allowing the Secretary of Agriculture to use "such sums as necessary" to fund the Commodity Credit Corporation in case of a shortfall.
This latest version of the Farm Bill actually did away with a number of open-ended appropriations in current law, instead using specific numbers for how much should be spent on things like the "Critical Agricultural Materials Act" or the "Agricultural Biosecurity Communication Center" and grants for "Agricultural Science."
The recently approved Omnibus spending bill that funded the operations of the federal government through the end of September had 58 different examples of the "such sums" phrase - sometimes it is "such sums as may be deemed necessary" or "such sums as may be necessary."
But it's always the same result - a seemingly unrestricted amount of money being funneled to a certain item.
Here are some examples:
+ "such sums as may be necessary" for "the reimbursable expenses of the Executive Residence at the White House"
+ "such sums as may be necessary" for the salaries of the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, and all other federal judges
+ "such sums as may be necessary" for the Washington, D.C. government to make refunds and pay legal judgments entered against the city
+ "such sums as may be necessary" to pay awards and settlements related to the Office of Compliance in the U.S. House and Senate
+ "such sums as may be necessary" for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for emergencies that deal with the eradication of contagious or infectious diseases, pests, animals or plants.
The phrase "such sums" is sometimes referred to as an 'indefinite authorization.'
So, how do you count "such sums as may be necessary" when you are trying to figure out the cost of a bill?
The Congressional Budget Office "generally uses the most recent appropriation as the starting point for estimating future spending" when 'such sums' are indicated.
Republicans have talked about ending these kind of open-ended authorizations and appropriations - as the 'legislative protocols' for the current Congress say getting rid of "such sums" will "improve transparency and accountability."
"Any bill or joint resolution authorizing discretionary appropriations shall specify the actual amount of funds being authorized," the GOP plan states.
But a quick search of bills in the current Congress found over five hundred had an instance of "such sums" in the bill text.
When you think about it, I wish I had known about "such sums as may be necessary" when I was a kid and needed some cash from my father.
Instead of asking for $20, it might have been better to approach him and say that I needed "such sums as may be necessary."
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