However, a delayed period of availability that begins after the start of the fiscal year, or even during a future fiscal year, may be provided for particular programs that are funded through the annual appropriations process. Advance appropriations become available for obligation starting at least one fiscal year after the budget year. Forward funding becomes available beginning late in the budget year and is carried into at least one following fiscal year. A dvance funding is funding for the following fiscal year that becomes available for obligation late in the budget year and would be in addition to the funds for that fiscal year. Although advance appropriations, forward funding, and advance funding are each discrete concepts, they tend to have some degree of variation in how they are implemented, including the interval in advance for which funds are provided and the duration of availability for those funds. Providing funds for a delayed period of availability may have budget process implications for Congress. Advance Appropriations

Advance appropriations is a form of budget authority that becomes available one or more fiscal years after the budget year covered by the appropriations act. Recent Funding Practices27

Advance appropriations are typically enacted at an interval of one fiscal year prior to when such appropriations become available. Adjustments to Funding in the Budget Year

For accounts that receive advance appropriations, the amount of budget authority that will be available once the fiscal year commences is sometimes adjusted in subsequent appropriations acts. Under current practice, this period of availability is used only for programs that are funded by discretionary spending. Recent Funding Practices42

Forward funds tend to become available at an interval that starts on July 1. This allows for only the portion of the program that requires summer obligations to be funded in this manner, while the remaining aspects can be funded through regular annual or advance appropriations. The total amount of payments that are funded by these and similar accounts may be particularly sensitive to changes in eligible beneficiaries or difficult to predict more than a year in advance. In such instances, providing extra funds that become available late in the fiscal year might lessen or eliminate the potential for a funding shortfall and the need for separate supplemental appropriations. The second account, Federal Unemployment Benefits and Allowances (Employment and Training Administration—Department of Labor), which funds the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program, is provided advance funds for about the last two weeks of the fiscal year:
For payments during fiscal year 2012 of trade adjustment benefit payments and allowances under part I of subchapter B of chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974, and section 246 of that Act; and for training, employment and case management services, allowances for job search and relocation, and related State administrative expenses under part II of subchapter B of chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974, including benefit payments, allowances, training, employment and case management services, and related State administration provided pursuant to section 231(a) of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011, $1,100,100,000, together with such amounts as may be necessary to be charged to the subsequent appropriation for payments for any period subsequent to September 15, 2012. Budget Process Implications

Using a delayed period of availability to fund a program may also have budget process implications. These implications derive from scorekeeping rules that govern the fiscal year to which such funds are attributed for the purposes of budget enforcement. The congressional budget resolution has also imposed various limits on advance appropriations for discretionary spending since FY2001. For FY2014 and FY2015, these limits were established in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013.
Federal programs that are funded through the annual appropriations process in regular appropriations acts may typically obligate those funds during a period that starts at the beginning of that fiscal year. For certain programs, however, the period of availability for some or all of their funds may be delayed until after the start of the fiscal year or even until a future fiscal year. Three types of delayed periods of availability are discussed in this report: "advance appropriations," "forward funding," and "advance funding."
Advance appropriations become available for obligation one or more fiscal years after the budget year covered by the appropriations act. Although advance appropriations are provided in order to manage specific planning concerns, they also have implications for the prevention of funding gaps and the avoidance of continuing appropriations for those programs. Advance appropriations are typically enacted at an interval of one fiscal year prior to when such appropriations become available. For accounts that receive advance appropriations, the amount of budget authority that will become available once the fiscal year commences is sometimes adjusted in subsequent appropriations acts through supplemental appropriations or rescissions.
Forward funding becomes available beginning late in the budget year and is carried into at least one following fiscal year. This period of availability's main implication is that it facilitates obligations during the summer months for programs that start their activities during the fall, particularly for the Department of Education and Department of Labor. Forward funds tend to become available at an interval that starts on July 1 and are available during at least two fiscal years. Typically, this schedule of availability is combined with annual or advance appropriations so that only the portions of the program that require summer obligations are funded in this manner.
Advance funding becomes available late in the budget year and is in addition to the funds for that entire fiscal year; any expenditure of the advance funds is charged to the following fiscal year's appropriation. This period of availability has tended to be used for accounts that fund mandatory payments to individuals. The aggregate amount of such payments may be particularly sensitive to changes in eligible beneficiaries or difficult to predict more than a year in advance. In such instances, providing extra funds that become available late in the fiscal year might lessen or eliminate the potential for a funding shortfall and the need for separate supplemental appropriations. In the two cases where advance funds are currently used, they are available only during the final weeks of the fiscal year.
Choosing a delayed period of availability when funding a program may have budget process implications due to the scorekeeping rules that govern the fiscal year to which such funds are attributed. The congressional budget resolution has also imposed various limits on advance appropriations for discretionary spending since FY2001. For FY2014, these limits were established in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. In certain circumstances, making funds available for a delayed period of availability may also violate House and Senate rules that prohibit unauthorized appropriations and other types of legislative provisions.