Defense Budget Information

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Table of Contents

Bill and Resolution Types
Information Needed for Bills or Resolutions
Sources to Use to Answer These Questions
Finding Defense Budget Figures
Useful Congressional Links

Other Government Agencies
Think Tanks and Lobby Organizations
Publications and Resources
- Budget Process Information
- Legislative Process

Legend

- NPS access only	- Full text	- Password required
- Army Knowledge Online	- Navy Knowledge Online	- Air Force Portal

The following links are provided for research and information purposes only to be used by students, faculty and staff.

Congressional bills are indexed by the Calendar Year [CY] while funding is based on the Fiscal Year [FY]. To find the desired Defense bill/funding information, one has to look at the CY prior to the FY one is interested in. [e.g. CY 1998 for FY 1999]

The information the defense budget students are usually looking for includes:

Bill and Resolution Types

Concurrent Resolution
Defense Authorization
Defense Appropriation
MILCON [Military Construction]
Reconciliation bill
Supplemental or Continuing Resolution

Information Needed for Each of the Above Bills or Resolutions

What was the bill number which was ultimately enacted
When was bill submitted or introduced
When did it go to the House or Senate Committee or Subcommittee & which one
When did it reach the House or Senate floor
What was the House or Senate report number
What was the House or Senate bill number
What was the conference report number
When was the conference report issued
When did the conference report pass the House
When did the conference report pass the Senate When did the President sign it
What was the public law [PL] number
How much was requested and what was finally appropriated

Sources to use to answer the questions:

CQ Budget Tracker

    The Congressional Quarterly (CQ) staff prepare and update a table with the following information. Coverage is from FY61 on
        a. house and senate bill numbers
        b. vote information
        c. hearings
        d. report numbers
        e. conference report number
        f. public law number
        g. line item information comparing White House and Congressional Spending Numbers

    DoD Appropriations Laws
    The staff of the Pentagon Library prepare and update a table with the following information. Coverage is from FY61 on
        a. house and senate bill numbers
        b. report numbers
        c. conference report number
        d. public law number

    DoD National Defense Authorization Laws
    The staff of the Pentagon Library prepare and update a table with the following information. Coverage is from FY61 on
        a. house and senate bill numbers
        b. report numbers
        c. conference report number
        d. public law number

    Military Construction Appropriations Laws
    The staff of the Pentagon Library prepare and update a table with the following information. Coverage is from FY83 on
        a. house and senate bill numbers
        b. report numbers
        c. conference report number
        d. public law number

    CIS Legislative Histories of US Public Laws
    [hard copy REF JK 1001 A2 or via "LexisNexis Congressional

    One can search by bill number, PL number or subject. This is a very comprehensive source which give all related bills and reports as well
    as the enacted ones.
    The LexisNexis Congressional version has hot-links to the documents when available.
    The following information is available for each Public Law:
        a. Public Law [PL] number and date passed
        b. Overview of the PL
        c. House and Senate report numbers and dates with synopsis of report
        d. Related reports
        e. The enacted bill and related bills with bill number and dates
        f. Congressional Record references for floor debate
        g. Information related to hearings - titles, dates and overview
        h. Committee print information
        i. Related Documents if appropriate [e.g. veto messages]
        j. References to any appropriate presidential statements in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents

   Defense Authorization and Appropriation Bills: FY1970-FY2007   This is a Congressional Research Service report by Thomas Coipuram, Jr. [October 26, 2006]. For the authorization and appropriation bills
   this provides the following information for each bill:
        a. Report number and date reported
        b. Date passed, vote number and the vote [yeas & nays]
        c. Conference report number, date passed, vote number, yeas & nays
        d. Public law number and date signed
        e. Congressional action on DOD appropriations requests [requests, house, senate, and what was enacted]
        f. Budget authority information

    Appropriations for FY****: Defense by Stephen Daggett
    These are Congressional Research Service reports which we are able to get on a fairly regular basis.
    They are in cataloged in BOSUN, the Library's online catalog. The title is a little misleading, as the document
    provides the dates, report numbers, etc., for the Budget Resolutions, Supplemental Appropriations,
    Defense Authorization and Defense Appropriation bills.

    Congressional Quarterly Almanac [REF JK 1 C72]
    Use the index, look under appropriate heading [e.g. Appropriations, Appropriations, supplement etc. and the then subheading of Defense
    to locate the page references. The “Box Score” section will give a lot of the necessary information [bill numbers, House and Senate report
    numbers, dates of passage and when signed]. There usually is also a page with a “Defense Spending” chart which as the amounts
    requested. Look also for the chart labeled “Appropriations Mileposts” usually at the end of the Appropriations section. It will give the
    bill number, Public Law number, date the House and Senate and reports were passed, the date the PL was signed and the page in the
    Almanac where the related story can be found.

    GPO ACCESS - Legislative
    Although one can search this site, it is most useful if the enacted bill or Public Law number is known. When available these publications
    are provides as TEXT and PDF files and will often include Summaries.
        a. Bill number and date of introduction
        b. Congressional documents
        c. Congressional reports
        d. Congressional committee prints
        e. Congressional hearings
        f. Congressional Record
        g. History of Bills [bill number, sponsor, related reports, and PL number and date of passage if relevant]
        h. Public Laws

    Thomas [Library of Congress Legislative Information on the Internet].
    This site is most useful if the enacted bill or Public Law number is known. When the PL is known the following is easily obtained.
    When appropriate, links to the related information are also included
        a. Text or PDF version of the law
        b. Sponsor
        c. Bill number and date of passage
        d. Bill summary and status info
        e. Detailed legislative status
        f. Floor/executive actions including roll call votes
        g. Congressional record page references

    Status of Current Appropriations Bills [from Thomas, Library of Congress Legislative Information on the Internet]
        a. FY 2008 Appropriation Bills [includes links back to FY1998]
        b. Appropriations Legislation FY1998-FY2004

To find Defense Budget figures go to the following:

    Budget of the United States Government Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or GPO ACCESS [searchable]
    This site provides links to various budget publications from 1996 to the present. These documents are not strictly for defense information
    but all should include it.
    Included are:
        a. Sequestration Update Report -- provides current estimates of the status of discretionary spending and the discretionary spending limits.
            It also provides the status of pay-as-you-go legislation
        b. Mid-Session Review -- contains revised estimates of the budget surplus, receipts, outlays, and budget authority
        c. FY Budget was transmitted to Congress in February each year and covers the fiscal year beginning October of year year
        d. Appendix
        e. Historical Tables
        f. Various supporting documents

    Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Home Page
    This site is Grand Central Station for the annual BES, or Budget Estimate Submission, i.e., DoD's budget request. It also provides detailed
    information on the justification for the request. Links to various important Defense Budget documents are available from this page. This
    includes detailed supplemental materials and Service budget documentation pages.
    Be sure to see the National Defense Budget Estimates for the FY Budget (Green Book) as it provides a variety of tables and breakdowns
   with information going back to 1947.

    Service Pages:
        a. Air Force Budget materials
        b. Army Budget materials
        c. Navy and Marine Corps [overall site]

    DOD supplemental materials:
        a. Military Personnel Programs (M-1)
        b. Operation and Maintenance Programs (O-1)
        c. Program Acquisition Costs by Weapon System
        d. Procurement Programs (P-1)
        e. Procurement Programs (P-1R) Reserve Components
        f. Research, Development, Test & Evaluation Programs (R-1)
        g. Military Construction, Family Housing, and Base Realignment and Closure Program (C-1)
        h. National Defense Budget Estimates for FY Budget (Green Book)
                This document is especially useful to those looking for historical budget data, to detect patterns, trends, etc.

    Annual Report to the President and the Congress
    Commonly referred to as the Annual Defense Report. See the Appendices section for each year - the budget information is typically in
    Section B
        a. B-1 - Budget Authority by Appropriation
        b. B-2 - Budget Authority by Component

Useful Congressional Links

    Budget Committees
        House
        Senate
            Democratic
            Republican

    Appropriations Committees
        House
        Senate
            Senate Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations
            Senate Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

    Armed Services Committees
        House
        Senate

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives

    Department of Defense, Legislative Affairs

    U.S. House of Representatives

    U.S. Senate

    Congressional Research Service (CRS)
         Sources for CRS Reports (Dudley Knox Library)

Other Government Agencies

    Congressional Budget Office
        Publications
            Studies & Reports
            Cost Estimates
            Testimony
             Search
        Technical Papers
        Links

    Department of Defense Inspector General (DODIG)
        Publications
        Audit and Policy & Oversight Reports
        Investigations
        Intelligence

    Government Accountability Office [GAO] (formerly: General Accounting Office)
        Publications
        Topical Collections

    Office of Budget and Management (OMB)
        Budget information
        Earmarks
        Legislative information
        OMB Circulars

    Treasury Department
        Bureau of the Public Debt
        Comptroller of the Currency
        Financial Management Service (FMS)
        Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

    Where Tax Dollars Are Spent (USA Spending)

Think Tanks and Lobbyist Organizations

For a larger list see the Think Tanks and Research Centers section on our Navigating the Military Internet page.

    Budget Analyst

    Center for Defense Information (CDI)

    Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
        Annual Defense Budget

    Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

    Federal Budget Requests for Science and Technology (tracked by the American Institute of Physics)

    Heritage Foundation Research
        Federal Budget and Spending
        Ten Myths About the Defense Budget

    Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)

    OMB Watch
        Federal Budget
        Fed.Spending.org [searchable database of federal spending]

Publications and Resources

CQ Today

CQ Weekly Report

    Defense Budget Briefing Documents and Special Reports (OSD Comptroller iCenter)

    Defense Budget Primer (CRS report by Mary T. Tyszkiewicz and Stephen Daggett)

    Documents on Military Spending (Federation of American Scientists)
        Basic Budget Guidance Documents

    Inside Defense

        in particular see the Defense Budget Alert section

    SIPRI Military Expenditures Database
       Their database on military expenditures covers about 165 countries and contains consistent time series for 1998 to the present

    USAspending.gov
        This site allows users to see where federal contracting dollars and grant awards go. Information is available for the top contractors as well as by state, congressional
        district and more. Also includes overviews by major agency

     Budget Process Information

        The Appropriations & Budget Process [a flowchart]

        The Budget Process (Defense Working Capital Fund)

        Budget Formulation and Presentation - DoD Financial Management Regulation 7000.14-R