<P> An appropriations bill is a bill that appropriates (gives to, sets aside for) money to specific federal government departments, agencies, and programs . The money provides funding for operations, personnel, equipment, and activities . Regular appropriations bills are passed annually, with the funding they provide covering one fiscal year . The fiscal year is the accounting period of the federal government, which runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year . Appropriations bills are under the jurisdiction of the United States House Committee on Appropriations and the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations . Both Committees have twelve matching subcommittees, each tasked with working on one of the twelve annual regular appropriations bills . </P> <P> There are three types of appropriations bills: regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, and supplemental appropriations bills . Regular appropriations bills are the twelve standard bills that cover the funding for the federal government for one fiscal year and that are supposed to be enacted into law by October 1 . If Congress has not enacted the regular appropriations bills by the time, it may pass a continuing resolution, which generally continues the pre-existing appropriations at the same levels as the previous fiscal year (or with minor modifications) for a set amount of time . The third type of appropriations bills are supplemental appropriations bills, which add additional funding above and beyond what was originally appropriated at the beginning of the fiscal year . Supplemental appropriations bills can be used for things like disaster relief . </P>

Where does a federal appropriation bill come from and what does it do