power of the purse
Legislative funding control
Power of the purse is the authority to control government spending, typically held by a legislature rather than an executive.
In the United States, Congress holds this power—the president may propose budgets, but only Congress can appropriate funds.
Congress used its power of the purse to block military intervention.
The phrase emphasizes that whoever controls money controls policy.
- moneyCurrency for transactions
- money talksRiches hold influence
- appropriationsDesignated funds for purposes
- budgetPlan for spending
- federal budgetGovernment's yearly financial plan
fiscal · funds · public spending · Estates-General · wealth · legislature · expenditure · finance · Magna Carta · constitutional history · checks and balances · oversight committees · government shutdown · spending · allocation · revenue · political reform · taxation
power of the purseimpoundment
Official seizure or detention
executive overreach · slush fund · black budget · executive orders
power of the pursepowerless
Lacking strength or authority
impotent · powerlessness · rubber stamp · dependence · subservience
power of the purseexecutive power
Government's enforcement capacity
judicial review · veto power · executive order · pardon power · regulatory authority
power, purse, powers, powered, powering, powerful, powerfully, powerless, powerlessness