Research Guides: Defense Budget : Budget Legislation

From Congresssional Quarterly

CQ Almanac (1945-current) (CQ Press)
Narrative accounts of every major piece of legislation that lawmakers considered during a congressional session. The print version may be more user-friendly. It is in our Reference section [REF JK 1 C72]. Use the index, look under appropriate heading [e.g. Appropriations, Appropriations, supplement etc. and the then subheading of Defense to locate the page references. The “Box Score” section will give a lot of the necessary information [bill numbers, House and Senate report numbers, dates of passage and when signed]. There usually is also a page with a “Defense Spending” chart which as the amounts requested. Look also for the chart labeled “Appropriations Mileposts” usually at the end of the Appropriations section. It will give the bill number, Public Law number, date the House and Senate and reports were passed, the date the PL was signed and the page in the Almanac where the related story can be found.
CQ Magazine (CQ Press)
Weekly briefing of congressional activity: bill status, committee and floor activity, debates, roll-call votes, behind-the-scenes developments.
Also includes roll call votes, presidential speeches, election coverage and more. Coverage begins in 1983.

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports on Defense Authorization and Appropriation Bills

CRS produces numerous reports about the Defense budget, bills, etc. See particularly the detailed one they produce each year on the Defense Authorization and Appropriations bills for that year, with the title Defense: FY**** Authorization and Appropriations. Those for the past five years are linked below with their report numbers.

FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act: Overview of Funding Authorizations
CRS Report 47869
FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act: Context and Selected Issues for Congress
CRS Report R47110
Defense Authorization and Appropriations Bills: FY1961-FY2021
CRS Report 98-756
FY2020 Defense Appropriations Act: P.L. 116-93 (H.R. 2968, S. 2474, H.R. 1158)
CRS Report R46361
FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act: P.L. 116-92 (H.R. 2500, S. 1790)
CRS Report R46144
FY2019 Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-245)
CRS Report R45689
FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5515)
CRS Report R45816
FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act
CRS Report R45013
Defense: FY 2017 Budget Request, Authorization, and Appropriations
CRS Report R44454
Defense: FY2015 Authorization and Appropriations
CRS Report R43788
Defense: FY2014 Authorization and Appropriations
CRS Report R43323
Defense: FY2013 Authorization and Appropriations
CRS Report R42607
Defense: FY2012 Authorization and Appropriations
CRS Report R41861
Defense: FY2011 Authorization and Appropriations
CRS Report R41254
National Defense Authorization Act: Selected Military Personnel Issues
CRS Reports search results, 2015 - current

Annual Tables With Bill and Law Numbers, Approval Dates, etc.

The sources below are useful for tracking the passage of defense budget legislation in a given year from initiation in Congress through to signing of the final law by the President. Each presents the information a little differently, so it can be helpful to review them all. Most will also link to the full text of each bill, report, law, etc.

Appropriations Status Table
From the Congressional Research Service. FY 99 - current. timely information on legislative activity related to the appropriations and budget process. It includes updates on the status of each of the regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, supplemental appropriations bills (e.g., disaster assistance supplemental appropriations legislation), omnibus appropriations measures and budget resolutions. It also provides links to related resources for appropriations legislation, such as legislative text, committee prints, and press releases.
Defense Authorization and Appropriations Bills: FY1961-FY2021
This annually updated CRS report lists the DOD authorization and appropriations bills for FY1961-FY2021. It includes all the pertinent information on the passage of these bills through the legislative process:bill numbers, report numbers, dates reported and passed, recorded vote numbers and vote tallies, dates of passage of the conference reports with their numbers and votes, vetoes, substitutions, dates of final passage, and public law numbers.
Pentagon Library Defense Budget Legislation Guide
Use the tabs on their guide to find appropriations and authorization information showing the following for each Fiscal Year since 1961:
a. house and senate bill numbers
b. report numbers
c. conference report number
d. public law number
DOD Appropriations Laws
DOD National Defense Authorization Laws
Military Construction Appropriations Laws

Legislation & Records

Legislation & Records
This U.S. Senate web site has a lot of useful links for researching current and past legislation.

Full Text of Legislation and Other Congressional Materials

Listed below are some good sources for finding the full text of bills, public laws, Congressional conference and committee reports, and legislative histories of US public laws.

Congress.gov
The official site for congressional legislative materials including bills and resolutions, the Congressional Record, committee reports and more. Replaces Thomas.gov as of late 2013.
govinfo
Government information. Bills & statutes, budget & presidential materials, congressional committee materials, congressional rules & procedures, directories of organizations & officials, executive agency publications, judicial publications, legislate agency publications, proceedings of Congress & general congressional publications, regulatory information
ProQuest Congressional
Congressional information such as bills and laws, legislative histories, hearings, reports, and other documents, Committee memberships, Congressional Record Congressional Research Service, Executive Branch, presidential materials and more.
ProQuest Congressional provides indexing and abstracting of congressional publications. Sources include: full text of congressional hearings, reports, documents, committee prints, bills, Congressional Record, Bill tracking, public laws, biographical information, committees, voting records and executive branch and presidential documents. Our subscription includes information going back to the first Congress in 1789!

Defense Budget

What you will find on this page

From Congresssional Quarterly

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports on Defense Authorization and Appropriation Bills

Annual Tables With Bill and Law Numbers, Approval Dates, etc.

Legislation & Records

Full Text of Legislation and Other Congressional Materials

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