Defense: FY2009 Authorization and Appropriations
Abstract
The President's FY2009 federal budget request, released February 4, 2008, included $611.1 billion in new budget authority for national defense. This total included $515.4 billion in discretionary new budget authority for the base budget of the Department of Defense (DOD) i.e., activities not associated with combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The budget included an additional $2.9 billion in mandatory spending for the DOD base budget and $22.8 billion for defense costs of the Department of Energy and other agencies. In addition to the $541.1 billion requested for the base line (i.e., non-war cost) budget, the request also included an unallocated placeholder of $70 billion to cover war costs in the first part of FY2009. On April 30 the Senate Armed Services Committee marked up its version of the FY2009 defense authorization bill (S. 3001), authorizing the appropriation of$6 12.5 billion in new budget authority for national security programs, including $542.5 billion for the base line budget and a $70 billion allowance for war-related costs. The committee approved without major change the finding requests for several programs that have been the subject of controversy, including the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) and the Navy's DDG-l000 destroyer. On September 17, the Senate passed the authorization bill by a vote of 88-8. Because of a controversy over earmarks, the Senate considered only four amendments to the bill, adopting three. The House had passed its version of the defense authorization bill (H.P. 5658) on May 22 authorizing $612.5 billion, including $70 billion for war-related costs. The bill would deny authorization of the $2.5 billion requested for a third destroyer of the DDG-l000 class, allocating those funds instead to buy several other ships. A compromise between the House and Senate bills, authorizing $611.1 billion, was worked out informally by the House and Senate Armed Services committees.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 03, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA492961
Entities
People
- Amy Belasco
- Pat Towell
- Stephen Daggett
Organizations
- Library of Congress