1. United States
2. R.I.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge Congress to take immediate action to reclaim its most fundamental constitutional authority: the power of the purse. For too long, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has evolved from a clerical assistant into a powerful gatekeeper that frequently delays, reshapes, or halts spending decisions already enacted into law by the people's representatives. While the OMB’s role in developing the President’s budget request is established, its post-enactment control—specifically the apportionment process—has become a mechanism for executive overreach. By using binding apportionment footnotes and Category A or B time-phased limits, the OMB can effectively "pocket-veto" funding by stalling its release. This structural imbalance allows the White House to impose political whims onto clear legislative mandates. To restore constitutional equilibrium, Congress must move beyond passive oversight and implement the following reforms: • Mandate Automatic Apportionment: Amend governing statutes to ensure that once an appropriation is signed into law, funds are made available to agencies automatically on a set schedule, removing the OMB's power to use Form SF-132 as a political bottleneck. • Strengthen the Impoundment Control Act (ICA): Narrow the definition of "programmatic delays" to prevent the executive branch from using administrative excuses to circumvent the 45-day congressional review period for rescissions. • Codify Directive Language: Increase the use of "shall obligate" clauses and mandatory 60-day deadlines within appropriations bills to legally compel the release of funds and trigger Antideficiency Act scrutiny if the executive fails to act. • Enhance GAO Enforcement: Grant the Government Accountability Office (GAO)expanded authority to monitor apportionments in real-time and provide the Comptroller General with streamlined legal standing to sue for the immediate release of improperly withheld funds. • Apply "Appropriations Punishment": Use the power of the purse against the OMB itself by conditioning its operating budget on the timely and transparent execution of congressional spending directives. The American people deserve a legislature that does more than merely authorize spending in theory. If Congress continues to allow the OMB to act as a practical gatekeeper of federal funds, the separation of powers becomes a fiction. I urge you to act now to ensure that the will of Congress—and by extension, the will of the people—is followed precisely, rather than being subject to the political maneuvering of the executive branch. Would you like me to adjust the tone to be more aggressive, or should I add a section on specific historical examples where the OMB has stalled funding?