Authorized vs Appropriated: Two Budgets
Congress writes two different defense numbers every year — the NDAA's authorization and the appropriations bill's budget authority — and only one of them lets the Pentagon spend a dollar.
Security
Security covers the national security apparatus: military posture, intelligence oversight, homeland security operations, border enforcement and cyber threats to critical infrastructure. Reporting relies on hearings, declassified material and named officials. Intended for analysts, security professionals, congressional staff and readers assessing threat claims against the evidence offered.
Coverage spanning defense posture, intelligence oversight, homeland security and cyber threats to infrastructure, built on testimony and public documents.
How DHS Security Grants Reach Cities
About a billion dollars a year flows from FEMA to states and big cities for terrorism prevention and preparedness — through a formula-and-competition machine shaped by risk scores and spending rules.
Space Force and the Orbital Traffic Jam
The US military catalog of tracked orbiting objects has swelled past 47,000 entries, and keeping two of them from colliding has become a Space Force mission in its own right.
How US Chip Export Controls Work
Since October 2022, the Commerce Department has run the most sweeping technology restrictions of the export-control era — and patched them every time industry found a gap.
Guam Defense: The Plans and the Price
The Pentagon is building its densest air and missile defense outside the continental United States on a 212-square-mile island, and the bill keeps growing.
How the Military Fixed Recruiting
After a 15,000-recruit shortfall in 2023, the services rebuilt their recruiting model around preparation courses and bigger budgets — and hit their fiscal 2025 goals early.