Federal Budgeting

For John, BLUF:  Federal Budget Wonk stuff here.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), the Honorable Robert F Hale, the DoD CFO, has an on-line PowerPoint presenation on reprogramming of monies that come from Congress to the Department of Defense:  "Budget Execution:  Process and Flexibility".  It is an OK briefing, but it does provide a lot of insight for those who have not been emersed in the process in the past.  For instance, here is a discussion of the role of Congress in the initial budget process:

This phase starts in late January or February, when the Congress receives the President's Budget.  The Congress does not vote on the President's Budget itself, and it does not enact a budget of its own, as such.  It considers the President's Budget proposals, passes overall revenue and spending plans called a "budget resolution", and enacts the regular appropriation acts and other laws that control spending and receipts.

The DoD Comptroller web site has lots of semi-useful information available, like the Fiscal Year 2013 DoD Budget.

A final note.  With the Federal Government it is a two step process.  For a project to move forward, Defense or non-Defense, Congress provides both an Authorization (to spend the money) and an Appropriation (the money to spend).  Thus, an Authorizing Committee and an Appropriations Committee.

Regards  —  Cliff