Both the House and the Senate are proceeding with appropriations, the annual spending measures due by the start of the new fiscal year on October 1. Appropriations, which make up about one-third of the federal budget, are “discretionary” spending, meaning they require annual legislative approval. By contrast, mandatory or “direct” …
The Department of Defense’s recently released budget is based on a hope that the international environment has structurally changed and that the United States will never again face the obligation of fighting two major wars simultaneously, according to the most recent publication by the Defending Defense Coalition of the American …
