Government and politics concepts · AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP U.S. History
Power of the purse
Power of the purse: Congress's constitutional power to tax and to control federal spending through appropriations.
By the CollegePrepRoom editorial team · Updated · How we write and check these pages
What it means
The Constitution requires that money be drawn from the Treasury only through appropriations made by law, giving Congress control over the budget. This is one of Congress's strongest checks on the executive branch and the bureaucracy.
Congress can use funding to expand programs, restrict how agencies spend money, or limit enforcement of policies it opposes.
Example
Congress can attach conditions to an agency's budget that prohibit spending on a particular rule.
On the exam
The power of the purse is a frequent answer to concept application questions about how Congress can check the president or the bureaucracy.