{
  "id": "RL30002",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30002",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101054,
      "date": "1998-12-09",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:48:29.913941",
      "title": "A Defense Budget Primer",
      "summary": "This report is a primer for those who wish to familiarize themselves with the process through\nwhich\nCongress acts on the U.S. defense budget. The report defines basic defense budget-related terms,\ndescribes the structure of the defense budget, briefly reviews the budget planning process within the\nDepartment of Defense (DOD), outlines in some detail the successive phases of the congressional\ndefense budget process, and provides a short review of budget execution.\n  The defense budget is not a single document or product, but more a series of spending\ncommitments that can be measured and broken down in a number of different ways. It can be\ndefined, first of all, in terms of budget authority, obligations, and outlays. Congress provides most\nof DOD's funds in the form of budget authority. Agencies may then obligate the funds, and outlays\noccur as paychecks are issued or progress payments are made on contracts. The defense budget can\nalso be defined broadly as the National Defense Budget Function or more narrowly as the Department\nof Defense budget. The structure of the defense budget as considered in Congress differs significantly\nfrom the structure of the budget as it is formulated by the Department of Defense.\n  The defense budget process has three main phases. The first phase is preparation of a budget\nrequest by the Executive Branch. The Department of Defense has developed a sophisticated\nmechanism, known as the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PBS), for formulating\nlong-term budget plans and preparing annual budget requests to the Congress. The White House\nOffice of Management and Budget (OMB) is involved in the PBS process and formally submits the\ndefense budget request to Congress on behalf of the President.\n  The second part of the process is congressional consideration. The basic process has three\nphases: the budget resolution, the defense authorization bill, and defense-related appropriations bills. \nThe annual budget resolution establishes targets for defense budget authority and outlays, but the\nmechanism for enforcing the targets allows considerable flexibility to appropriators. The\nauthorization and appropriations bills approve the defense budget at similar levels of detail, though\nonly the appropriations process actually provides budget authority to agencies. Congress frequently\nprovides additional funds to the Department of Defense through supplemental appropriations bills,\nwhich may or may not be accompanied by offsetting rescissions of previously appropriated funds. \n  The final part of the process is the budget execution stage. After budget authority is provided\nby Congress, the DOD may obligate funds to acquire goods and services. The pace at which funds\nare made available for obligation is governed in part by a process of allocations overseen by OMB. \nCongress allows DOD some flexibility to reallocate appropriated funds under a process known as\nreprogramming.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL30002",
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          "filename": "files/19981209_RL30002_40db7bbabf477fdf58b9b6ed35c8bb7160df891c.pdf",
          "images": null
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      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}