power of the purse

The power of the purse is an informal name for the influence that comes with having the authority to decide how money is spent. The phrase is typically used in relation to such power held by legislative bodies, especially the U.S. Congress.

The word purse can be used as shorthand for money or the power to spend money. In the United States, Congress (the legislative branch) has the power of the purse because of its role in authorizing the president’s budget proposals and other executive branch funding (a process called appropriation).

While power of the purse can be used generally, it is most often used in the specific context of government spending, especially as it relates to the U.S. Congress and its balance of power with the executive branch.

When you were a kid, did your parents ever threaten to stop paying for something you wanted if you didn’t listen to them? They could do that because, well, they’re your parents—and because they had the power of the purse, meaning they got to make the decisions because they had the power to pay for things.

The balance of power among the branches of the U.S. government is a little more complicated, but when it comes to paying for things, the same concept applies: Congress has the power of the purse because it has final say of how and when tax money will be spent.

This power is spelled out in the U.S. Constitution (in Article I, Section 9, Clause 7, known as the Appropriations Clause, and Article I, Section 8, Clause 1, known as the Taxing and Spending Clause). It applies to all legislation that requires federal spending, not just the federal budget.

When they wrote the Constitution, the founders still had a king in mind, so they wanted to keep money-spending power away from a single, powerful figure (the president). The idea behind giving this power to Congress was that members of Congress are directly elected by the people and therefore (at least theoretically) most accountable.

The power of the purse is important to the U.S. system of government because it helps balance power (which is the whole point of having separate branches of government in the first place). When you hear someone use the phrase power of the purse, there’s a good chance they’re talking about Congress reining in the power of the president by refusing to authorize funding requests.

At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Massachusetts delegate Elbridge Gerry (later of gerrymandering infamy) promoted the idea that the power of the purse should be given to Congress, stating that “the people ought to hold the purse-strings.”

The power of the purse is often cited as one of the checks and balances that are used to equally distribute power among each branch of the U.S. government.

James Madison
The Federalist No. 58

James Madison described the centrality of the power of the purse's role in the growth of representative government and its particular importance in the Constitution's governmental structure: pic.twitter.com/5toRsS1iBf

— °• Ronda (@40_Ronda) November 29, 2019

According to our Constitution, Congress holds the power of the purse – not the President.

When Congress appropriates funds, we should believe that it actually means something – that no President, Republican or Democrat, can simply ignore us for their own selfish purposes.

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) September 12, 2019

 

• appropriation
• Congress
• executive branch
• budget
• earmark
• fiscal year
• Sixteenth Amendment

Which branch of the U.S. government has the power of the purse and controls the appropriation of money?

A. Legislative branch
B. Judicial branch
C. Executive branch