Budget Matters Blog

Category: Military & Security


Congress Sends National Defense Authorization Act to President

Yesterday, in a 70-27 vote, lawmakers in the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which lays out how the Pentagon might spend its 2016 $612 billion budget.


What's Next for the Iran Nuclear Deal?

As of last week, the deal is officially in effect as lawmakers have lost their opportunity to block implementation of the plan. WHat happens next?


What’s Going on With the Iran Deal?

Last week, Senate Democrats filibustered a vote to reject the Iran deal. What's next?


Avoiding War: U.S. Reaches Nuclear Deal with Iran

Earlier this week, President Obama announced that after more than a year and a half of negotiations, the U.S. reached a nuclear deal with Iran. This newly reached deal provides hope that we as a nation will be able to avoid another long and costly war abroad.


Three Foreign Aid Mythbusters

On average, Americans believe that approximately a quarter of the US federal budget is spent on foreign aid. It's actually closer to one percent.


Pentagon Prize Time: Top 10 Federal Contractors

In fiscal year 2014, the United States government paid out an astounding $444 billion in federal contracts -- equivalent to almost forty percent of the federal discretionary budget for 2014.


Are We at a Turning Point? What We Spend on ISIS

With ISIS in the news again recently and new fears about abilities to contain the threat, we're taking another look at what this fight is costing us. 


What We Owe Our Vets on Memorial Day

In 2014, 27 cents of your income tax dollar went to the military for weapons, base operations, and war, but only 6 cents went to support generations of our nation's veterans.


Myth vs. Fact: The Pentagon Slush Fund

The OCO slush fund was originally designed to fund our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it is now being used to help the Pentagon break existing spending caps. 


President Obama's Order on Police Militarization: Your Federal Dollars at Work

A new executive order prohibits the federal provision of tracked armored vehicles, weaponized aircraft and vehicles, grenade launchers, and other items to local police departments.