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tdcoishJanuary 23, 2006
Defense Budget Tutorial #2: Smoke and mirrors in Congress’ Defense Appropriations bills
http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?DocumentID=3270&from_page=../index.cfm
The Smoke and Mirrors in Congress’ Defense Appropriations Bills: You’ll need a Rosetta Stone
Introduction
Understanding how Congress allocates spending in the defense budget requires a comprehension of obscure terms, opaque practices, and sometimes complex ruses. The explanation below of the gimmicks in Congress’ 2006 Department of Defense Appropriations Act is based on over 30 years of experience in congressional appropriations. Some of that experience was in crafting the very same dodges explained below; there did, however, come a point during the author’s Hill career when the focus shifted to opposing the same.
“Defense Budget Tutorial #1” established that Congress appropriated $454.5 billion for the Department of Defense in H.R. 2863, the DOD Appropriations Act, which is now Public Law 109-148. The amount constitutes most, but not all, of what the Defense Department will get in fiscal year 2006. The question here is, how did Congress distribute that money, and what does that say about the nature of Congress’ exercise of its “power of the purse?”
Appropriations Bill Basics
To understand the defense appropriations bill, it is necessary to briefly review its basic contents. These bills are typically divided into eight categories, or “Titles,” as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
