https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated December 15, 2022
Defense Primer: Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and
Execution (PPBE) Process
Introduction
Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE)
is the Department of Defense (DOD) system for allocating
resources among the armed services, defense agencies, and
other components. The annual process serves as the
framework for DOD civilian and military leaders to decide
which programs and force management requirements to
fund based on strategic objectives. This product describes a
notional PPBE process from the perspective of the Office of
the Secretary of Defense (OSD). In practice, aspects of the
process may differ based on current events or leadership
preferences.
DOD Directive 7045.14 states that PPBE serves as the
annual resource allocation process for the department over a
multi-year planning cycle. According to the directive, the
objective of the process is “to provide the DOD with the
most effective mix of forces, equipment, manpower, and
support attainable within fiscal constraints.” Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction 3100.01E describes the
process as the Secretary of Defense’s “institutional strategic
planning system and the primary decision-making process
for translating strategic guidance into resource allocation
decisions.”
The process is designed to produce DOD’s portion of the
President’s annual budget request to Congress, as well as
updates to the department’s five-year spending plan, known
as the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP). PPBE is one
of DOD’s three main acquisition-related decision support
systems, along with the Joint Capabilities Integration and
Development System (JCIDS) for developing requirements
to address capability gaps and the Defense Acquisition
System (DAS) for managing acquisition programs.
Background
In 1961, then-Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Robert S.
McNamara established the Planning, Programming, and
Budgeting System (PPBS) as a framework for linking
strategic objectives with resources. In 2003, DOD renamed
the system PPBE in part to emphasize the need to better
manage the execution of budget authority provided by
Congress. The Deputy Secretary of Defense assists the
SECDEF in the overall PPBE leadership role by managing
the process on a day-to-day basis.
PPBE is a calendar-driven process that, for any fiscal year
cycle, typically begins more than two years before the
expected year of budget execution. Figure 1 shows when
actions associated with a particular fiscal year cycle may
occur during a calendar year. DOD sometimes makes a
distinction between the execution phase of PPBE, or
execution review, and the execution of congressional
appropriations. (For more information, see the Execution
section below.)
PPBE Phases
The PPBE process typically produces internal documents
and materials for each phase. The planning phase produces
the Defense Planning Guidance (DPG), which details force
development priorities. The programming phase generates a
Program Objective Memorandum (POM), a funding plan
for each DOD component covering a five-year period that
adjusts programs in the FYDP. The budgeting phase results
in a Budget Estimate Submission (BES), which covers the
first year of the POM and converts programs into budget
terms for submission to Congress.
Figure 1. DOD Resource Allocation Process (notional)
(fiscal year cycle by calendar year and month)
Source: CRS graphic based on DOD references.
Notes: CY: calendar year; FY: fiscal year cycle; DPG: Defense
Planning Guidance; POM: Program Objective Memorandum; BES:
Budget Estimate Submission.
Planning
The Under Secretary of Defense (USD) for Policy leads the
planning phase. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
(CJCS) also plays a significant role in the process, in
accordance with responsibilities as the principal military
advisor to the SECDEF under Section 151 of Title 10,
United States Code (U.S.C.). The CJCS’s role is, in part, to
advocate for solutions to department-wide requirements.
The phase involves reviewing the President’s National
Security Strategy (NSS), the SECDEF’s National Defense
Strategy (NDS), and the CJCS’s National Military Strategy
(NMS) to align the resulting Defense Planning Guidance
with the Administration’s policy goals and potential threats,
force structure, readiness posture, and other factors.
Developed with input from the CJCS, armed services, and
combatant commanders, the DPG typically contains
guidance on investments and divestments for the
