The budget writers picked that number for no reason other than that it made the overall budget come out balanced.

Then there are the budget writers, who see dollar signs when anyone wants to close something down.

Nye is one of the chief budget writers in the North Carolina House.

During her last three terms in the Senate, she served as a senior budget writer and was the first woman to hold this position.

But the budget writers decided that this would be too expensive for the Government if it were fully effective this year.

To follow the tortuous process, it helps to understand how the budget writers talk.

High budget writers would get $1,200 instead of $1,100.

Nothing was left for budget writers this year or after.

So next year, she has decided that the program gets, in the words of budget writers, zeroed out.

But it does not explain how the budget writers decided to answer some pleas for money and ignore others.