Earmarks and the FY 2005 Defense Appropriations Act: a study of Congressional control of DoD

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to analyze how Congress controls the Department of Defense (DOD) through the budget review process. The project looks at the Congressional marks made to the Defense Appropriations Act. During the Congressional review of the Defense Budget, changes are made by Congress in order to control the DOD. These changes are not requested by the DOD and in many cases may be programs that are of special interest to members of Congress. This thesis is about how Congress uses earmarks to control the DOD. It considers the extent to which these changes are in the best interest of the National Defense. This project analyzed the Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2005 with special regard to the US Marine Corps accounts.