Funding the Common Defense: Money Matters in the Modern American Congress

America is at a crossroads. The military services are being asked to meet increased demands across the globe but lack a Congress that will put aside politically polarizing ideals in order to provide the leadership and budget certainty necessary to provide for the common defense. As a result, this study asks the question Is Congress fulfilling its constitutional mandate to provide for the common defense The conclusion is an unequivocal no. This conclusion is reached through the examination of two driving forces behind growing budget uncertainty the increasing use of and length of Continuing Resolution Authority CRA and the 2011 Budget Control Act BCA. The latter levies sequestration provisions on the military, specifically the Air Force. To begin, this study examines current national security strategies intended to inform the defense-budgetary process and looks at how the defense-budget process is designed to work.