Apportionment is the Office of Management and Budget process that makes appropriated money available to a federal agency in controlled amounts, time periods, or program accounts. Congress passes the appropriation, but agencies usually cannot obligate the money until OMB apportions it. The process was created to prevent agencies from overspending early in a fiscal year. In this fight, OMB is using apportionment decisions to slow or block education programs Congress funded.
Apportionment sounds like routine accounting, but it controls whether money Congress approved can actually reach schools, universities, researchers, and grantees. If OMB does not apportion money until the end of the fiscal year, the practical effect can be the same as a cut, even though Congress voted to fund the program.
Do not confuse OMB apportionment with congressional apportionment. Congressional apportionment divides House seats among states after the census. OMB apportionment controls when and how agencies may spend appropriated money.
Apportionment sounds like routine accounting, but it controls whether money Congress approved can actually reach schools, universities, researchers, and grantees. If OMB does not apportion money until the end of the fiscal year, the practical effect can be the same as a cut, even though Congress voted to fund the program.
Do not confuse OMB apportionment with congressional apportionment. Congressional apportionment divides House seats among states after the census. OMB apportionment controls when and how agencies may spend appropriated money.