power of the purse

Cultural  

1. The influence that legislatures have over public policy because of their power to vote money for public purposes. The United States Congress must authorize the president's budget requests to fund agencies and programs of the executive branch. (See appropriation.)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

power of the purse

Fundamentally, what makes a legislature powerful is its control over taxing and spending, the power of the purse.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

The legislative branch would have chambers representing the people and the states, holding the power of the purse and the power to make law.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025

That is Article I, Section 9—the bedrock of Congress’s power of the purse.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2025

Constitutionally and by custom, Congress has the power of the purse.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2025

He chose to fight Claudia with the one weapon he had—the power of the purse.

From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg