31 U.S.C. § 1108 — Preparation and submission of appropriations requests to the President

(a) In this section, except subsections (b)(1) and (e), “agency” means a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government. This section does not otherwise define that quoted term.

(b) (1) The head of each agency must prepare and send the President each appropriation request for the agency. The request must use the form the President prescribes under this chapter and be sent by the date the President sets. If the agency head does not send it by that date, the President must prepare the request for inclusion in the budget, a budget change, or deficiency and supplemental appropriations. The President may change agency requests. Agency requests must be developed from cost-based budgets in the way and at the times the President prescribes. The agency head must use the cost-based budget to administer the agency and divide appropriations or amounts. (2) An executive-branch agency officer or employee may ask the President or Congress for legislation authorizing deficiency or supplemental appropriations for the agency only with the agency head’s approval.

(c) With an appropriation request sent to the President, the agency head must include a report stating that the accompanying statement of obligations contains obligations consistent with section 1501 of this title. The head must support the report with a certification of consistency and support the certification with records showing that the amounts were obligated. The head must designate officials to make the certifications, and those officials may not delegate that duty. The agency must keep the certifications and records (1) in a form that makes audits and reconciliations easy and (2) for the time needed to perform audits and reconciliations.

(d) To the extent practicable, the agency head must (1) provide information supporting the agency’s budget request for its missions by function and subfunction, including each organizational unit’s mission, and (2) connect the agency’s programs to its missions.

(e) Unless subsection (f) provides otherwise, an agency officer or employee, as defined in section 1101 of this title, may send Congress or a congressional committee an appropriation estimate or request, a request to increase one, or a recommendation for meeting the Government’s financial needs only when either House of Congress asks for it.

(f) The Interstate Commerce Commission must send Congress copies of budget estimates, requests, and information, including personnel needs, legislative recommendations, prepared testimony for congressional hearings, and comments on legislation at the same time those materials are sent to the President or the Office of Management and Budget. An agency officer may not place conditions on, or impair, the Commission’s communication with Congress, a congressional committee, or a Member of Congress about the information.

(g) Amounts available under law may be used for field examinations of appropriation estimates. Their use is subject only to regulations issued by the appropriate standing congressional committees.