A Defense Budget Primer (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Dec. 9, 1998 |
| Report Number |
RL30002 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Mary T. Tyszkiewicz and Stephen Daggett, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
This report is a primer for those who wish to familiarize themselves with the process through
which
Congress acts on the U.S. defense budget. The report defines basic defense budget-related terms,
describes the structure of the defense budget, briefly reviews the budget planning process within the
Department of Defense (DOD), outlines in some detail the successive phases of the congressional
defense budget process, and provides a short review of budget execution.
The defense budget is not a single document or product, but more a series of spending
commitments that can be measured and broken down in a number of different ways. It can be
defined, first of all, in terms of budget authority, obligations, and outlays. Congress provides most
of DOD's funds in the form of budget authority. Agencies may then obligate the funds, and outlays
occur as paychecks are issued or progress payments are made on contracts. The defense budget can
also be defined broadly as the National Defense Budget Function or more narrowly as the Department
of Defense budget. The structure of the defense budget as considered in Congress differs significantly
from the structure of the budget as it is formulated by the Department of Defense.
The defense budget process has three main phases. The first phase is preparation of a budget
request by the Executive Branch. The Department of Defense has developed a sophisticated
mechanism, known as the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PBS), for formulating
long-term budget plans and preparing annual budget requests to the Congress. The White House
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is involved in the PBS process and formally submits the
defense budget request to Congress on behalf of the President.
The second part of the process is congressional consideration. The basic process has three
phases: the budget resolution, the defense authorization bill, and defense-related appropriations bills.
The annual budget resolution establishes targets for defense budget authority and outlays, but the
mechanism for enforcing the targets allows considerable flexibility to appropriators. The
authorization and appropriations bills approve the defense budget at similar levels of detail, though
only the appropriations process actually provides budget authority to agencies. Congress frequently
provides additional funds to the Department of Defense through supplemental appropriations bills,
which may or may not be accompanied by offsetting rescissions of previously appropriated funds.
The final part of the process is the budget execution stage. After budget authority is provided
by Congress, the DOD may obligate funds to acquire goods and services. The pace at which funds
are made available for obligation is governed in part by a process of allocations overseen by OMB.
Congress allows DOD some flexibility to reallocate appropriated funds under a process known as
reprogramming.
