United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense

[2] Each committee has 12 matching subcommittees, each of which is tasked with working on one of the twelve annual regular appropriations bills.

[2] Regular appropriations bills are passed annually, with the funding they provide covering one fiscal year.

[6] Appropriations bills are one part of a larger United States budget and spending process.

In addition to the general requirement that funds withdrawn from the Treasury only through "appropriations made by law" (Article I, Section 9), the Constitution gives Congress the authority to "raise and support Armies," but limits funding for the military to a maximum of two years (Article I, Section 8).

This restriction is generally not an issue for Congress, since by law, the federal budget operates on a year-to-year basis.

The subcommittee oversees overall funding for the Department of Defense, including the Army, Navy, Air Force.

Funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is handled by the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.