https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated November 17, 2022
Defense Primer: Defense Appropriations Process
The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse in
Article I, Section 9, which provides that “No money shall
be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by Law.” To fulfill this duty,
Congress annually considers appropriations measures,
which provide funding for numerous activities—such as
national defense, education, and homeland security—
consistent with policies and priorities established through
various enacted measures, such as the National Defense
Authorization Act.
The congressional appropriations process includes various
rules and practices that Congress has adopted to distinguish
appropriations measures and facilitate their consideration.
These measures generally provide funding authority in
response to the President’s budget request for a fiscal year
(October 1 through September 30).
Committees of Jurisdiction
The House and Senate Committees on Appropriations
exercise jurisdiction over annual appropriations measures.
Each committee has 12 subcommittees, each of which is
responsible for developing one regular annual
appropriations bill. These measures determine which
department activities will be funded. House and Senate
Appropriations subcommittee jurisdictions are generally
parallel. The main subcommittees that deal with defense
matters are:
Subcommittees on Defense, with jurisdiction over
appropriations for the Departments of Army, Navy
(including the Marine Corps), and Air Force (including
the Space Force); the Office of the Secretary of Defense;
defense agencies; and intelligence activities.
Subcommittees on Military Construction, Veterans
Affairs and Related Agencies, with jurisdiction over
appropriations for the Military Construction, Chemical
Demilitarization Construction, Military Family Housing
Construction and Operation and Maintenance, and Base
Realignment and Closure accounts; the NATO Security
Investment Program; the Department of Veterans
Affairs; and other related agencies.
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, with
jurisdiction over all defense-related activities of the
Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear
Security Administration. This subcommittee also has
jurisdiction over the civil works activities of the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, among other non-defense
activities.
The Congressional Budget Resolution
The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act
of 1974 (P.L. 93-344) provides for the annual consideration
of a concurrent resolution on the budget, which allows
Congress to establish overall budgetary and fiscal policy to
be implemented through enactment of subsequent
legislation. The budget resolution, in part, establishes a
limit on total new budget authority and outlay levels
divided among 20 functional categories—such as national
defense, agriculture, and transportation—that set spending
priorities.
Section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act requires
the total new budget authority and outlays in the budget
resolution to be allocated among all committees with
spending jurisdiction. This establishes ceilings on spending
for legislation reported from each committee that can be
enforced procedurally through points of order during
consideration of the legislation. All discretionary spending
is allocated to the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees, which are required to subdivide this allocation
among their 12 subcommittees under Section 302(b) of the
Congressional Budget Act. These suballocations are also
enforceable during consideration of legislation, preventing
the consideration of amendments that would increase
funding above these limits. In the absence of agreement on
a budget resolution, the House and Senate may use
alternative means to establish enforceable limits.
Committee Processes
Upon receipt of the President’s budget request, the
appropriations subcommittees generally begin a series of
hearings in which the senior civilian and military leadership
of the Department of Defense, the military services, and
certain defense agencies are invited to testify before the
subcommittees on the budget request.
At the same time, Members of Congress, including those
not serving on the Appropriations Committees, may submit
requests and make recommendations concerning proposed
programmatic levels and language to be included in
appropriations bills and committee reports.
After conducting these hearings, the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees make suballocations to the
subcommittees, which begin to draft, mark up, and report
the appropriations bills to the full committees. The full
committees conduct markups and may adopt amendments
to a subcommittee’s recommendations before reporting the
bills and making them available for floor consideration. In
addition to drafting the bills, the subcommittees also
prepare reports, which include information required by
House and Senate rules, explain committee actions, and
provide guidance and directives to agencies. Committee
reports may not be amended directly during floor
proceedings.
House and Senate Consideration
Traditionally, the House initiates consideration of regular
appropriations measures, although the Senate
