Civic term
Appropriations
Also written as: Appropriations Clause
What it means
Legislation granting the legal authority to spend money from the Treasury. The Constitution's Appropriations Clause bars any withdrawal of public money except by an appropriation made by law — which is why a funding lapse stops spending outright rather than merely deferring it.
Definition drawn from law.cornell.edu · last verified 2026-08-17
Sift's plain-language summary of the cited source, not a quotation from it.
How it's being covered
213 stories in Sift's index, from 31 outlets.
Filed 2026-03-30 — 2026-09-26.
Counts stories whose headline or summary uses the term, plus stories where Sift's own reading notes flagged it — many pieces turn on a term they never spell out in the headline.
Across the spectrum
- Left60 stories
- Center93 stories
- Right49 stories
Positions are AllSides' published ratings, shown for the outlets that filed these stories. 11 stories are counted in the total above but not placed here — either the outlet has no published rating, or Sift has not yet matched the name it files under to a dossier.
Who's covering it
- The HillCenter 60
- Washington ExaminerLean Right 30
- PoliticoLean Left 22
- PBS NewsHourCenter 13
- CBS NewsLean Left 12
- AxiosCenter 10
- The New York TimesLean Left 8
- The Washington PostLean Left 8
- Fox NewsLean Right 7
- The Daily WireRight 5
- ABC NewsLean Left 4
- Roll Call4
- NPRCenter 3
- New York PostRight 3
- The GuardianLean Left 3
- BBC NewsCenter 2
- Financial TimesCenter 2
- ForbesCenter 2
- Rolling Stone2
- The Daily CallerRight 2
- Ars Technica1
- CNBCCenter 1
- Fortune1
- National ReviewRight 1
- RealClearPolitics1
- ReasonLean Right 1
- STAT1
- SlateLeft 1
- Space.com1
- The VergeLean Left 1
- VoxLeft 1
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