Congress enacts Budget Act of 1974, creating the modern budget process and budget reconciliation

President Nixon signed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 into law on July 12, 1974, establishing the Congressional Budget Office, the House and Senate Budget Committees, and the budget reconciliation process. The law created a formal congressional budget timetable and stripped presidents of the unilateral power to impound (refuse to spend) congressionally appropriated funds, which Nixon had used extensively. Title III of the act embedded reconciliation as a technical mechanism to align spending with budget resolutions.