Allocation of Appropriated Funds

The apportionment process begins when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) apportions budget authority to DoD based on appropriations made by Congress. The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense, Comptroller (OUSD(C)), receives these apportionment documents from OMB and allots DoD’s budget authority to the Military Departments and Defense Agencies. During this process, some funds may be withheld. In the case of acquisition programs, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment (USD(A&S)) may propose technical withholds on programs that need further review (DAB, Milestones, etc.). OUSD(C) analysts prepare Funding Authorization Documents (FADS) that release the initial allotment of funds. Once the Services and Defense Agencies receive their FADS (allotment of funds), their comptrollers will allocate the funds to major commands or program executive offices, which will subsequently sub-allocate funds to their subordinate program offices for execution.

Some Services and Agencies also use a process by which the headquarters passes “Program Authority” to subordinate organizations as “Budget Authority” is passed. “Program Authority” goes through the acquisition community while “Budget Authority” passes through the resource management community. When used, “Program Authority” is usually more detailed (e.g., down to the project or work unit level) than the level used in the “Budget Authority” allotments. Whether “Program Authority” is or is not passed to subordinate organizations, “Budget Authority” is the control for sub-division of funds and is used for execution purposes and tracking against congressional appropriations.  The FAD is the budget authority control document, and amounts shown on the FAD are never to be exceeded.