Provision Types

Quick reference for all 11 provision types in the extraction schema. For detailed explanations with real examples and distribution data, see The Provision Type System.

At a Glance

Common Fields (All Types)

Every provision carries these fields regardless of type:

CrossReference Fields

appropriation

Grant of budget authority — the core spending provision.

Bill text pattern: “For necessary expenses of [account], $X,XXX,XXX,XXX…”

Budget authority: Counted when semantics == "new_budget_authority" AND detail_level is "top_level" or "line_item". Sub-allocations and proviso amounts are excluded to prevent double-counting.

Example (from H.R. 9468):

{
  "provision_type": "appropriation",
  "account_name": "Compensation and Pensions",
  "agency": "Department of Veterans Affairs",
  "amount": {
    "value": { "kind": "specific", "dollars": 2285513000 },
    "semantics": "new_budget_authority",
    "text_as_written": "$2,285,513,000"
  },
  "detail_level": "top_level",
  "availability": "to remain available until expended",
  "fiscal_year": 2024,
  "confidence": 0.99,
  "raw_text": "For an additional amount for ''Compensation and Pensions'', $2,285,513,000, to remain available until expended."
}

Count in example data: 1,223 (49% of all provisions)

rescission

Cancellation of previously appropriated funds.

Bill text pattern: “…is hereby rescinded” or “Of the unobligated balances… $X is rescinded”

Budget authority: Summed separately and subtracted to produce Net BA.

Example (from H.R. 4366):

{
  "provision_type": "rescission",
  "account_name": "Nonrecurring Expenses Fund",
  "agency": "Department of Health and Human Services",
  "amount": {
    "value": { "kind": "specific", "dollars": 12440000000 },
    "semantics": "rescission",
    "text_as_written": "$12,440,000,000"
  },
  "reference_law": "Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023"
}

Count in example data: 78 (3.1%)

cr_substitution

Continuing resolution anomaly — substitutes one dollar amount for another.

Bill text pattern: “…shall be applied by substituting ‘$X’ for ‘$Y’…”

Both amounts are independently verified. The search table automatically shows New, Old, and Delta columns.

Example (from H.R. 5860):

{
  "provision_type": "cr_substitution",
  "account_name": "Rural Housing Service—Rural Community Facilities Program Account",
  "new_amount": {
    "value": { "kind": "specific", "dollars": 25300000 },
    "semantics": "new_budget_authority",
    "text_as_written": "$25,300,000"
  },
  "old_amount": {
    "value": { "kind": "specific", "dollars": 75300000 },
    "semantics": "new_budget_authority",
    "text_as_written": "$75,300,000"
  },
  "section": "SEC. 101",
  "division": "A"
}

Count in example data: 13 (all in H.R. 5860)

transfer_authority

Permission to move funds between accounts. The dollar amount is a ceiling, not new spending.

Budget authority: Not counted — semantics: "transfer_ceiling".

Count in example data: 77 (all in H.R. 4366)

limitation

Cap or prohibition on spending.

Bill text pattern: “not more than $X”, “none of the funds”, “shall not exceed”

Budget authority: Not counted — semantics: "limitation".

Count in example data: 460 (18.4%)

directed_spending

Earmark or community project funding directed to a specific recipient.

Note: Most earmarks are in the joint explanatory statement (a separate document), not the enrolled bill XML. Only earmarks in the bill text itself appear here.

Count in example data: 8 (all in H.R. 4366)

mandatory_spending_extension

Amendment to an authorizing statute — extends, modifies, or reauthorizes mandatory programs.

Count in example data: 84 (40 in omnibus, 44 in CR)

directive

Reporting requirement or instruction to an agency.

Budget authority: None — directives don’t carry dollar amounts.

Example (from H.R. 9468):

{
  "provision_type": "directive",
  "description": "Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a review of the circumstances surrounding and underlying causes of the announced VBA funding shortfall for FY2024...",
  "deadlines": ["180 days after enactment"],
  "section": "SEC. 104"
}

Count in example data: 125

rider

Policy provision that doesn’t directly appropriate, rescind, or limit funds.

Budget authority: None.

Count in example data: 336

continuing_resolution_baseline

The core CR mechanism — usually SEC. 101 — establishing the default funding rule.

Count in example data: 1 (in H.R. 5860)

other

Catch-all for provisions that don’t fit any of the 10 specific types.

When the LLM produces an unknown provision_type string, the resilient parser wraps it as Other with the original classification preserved in llm_classification. In the example data, all 96 other provisions were deliberately classified as “other” by the LLM — none triggered the fallback parser.

Count in example data: 96 (3.8%)

Amount Fields

Dollar amounts appear on many provision types. Each amount has three components:

AmountValue (value)

Amount Semantics (semantics)

Text As Written (text_as_written)

The verbatim dollar string from the bill text (e.g., "$2,285,513,000"). Used for verification — the string is searched for in the source XML to confirm the amount is real.

Detail Levels (Appropriation Type Only)

Proviso Fields

Conditions attached to appropriations via “Provided, That” clauses:

Earmark Fields

Community project funding items:

Distribution in Example Data

The distribution varies by bill type. Here’s a sample from three FY2024 bills to illustrate — run congress-approp search --dir data --list-types for current counts across the full 32-bill dataset:

Notice how bill type shapes the distribution: the omnibus is dominated by appropriations and limitations, the CR by riders and mandatory spending extensions, and the supplemental by a handful of targeted appropriations and directives.

Next Steps

• The Provision Type System — detailed explanations with real examples and analysis
• extraction.json Fields — complete field reference for the full JSON structure
• Budget Authority Calculation — how types and detail levels affect budget totals