ABSTRACT
The Carter administration appears to be recognizing the impact of its budgetary choices on American defense policy. Plans become irrelevant and operations virtually impossible until the forces and weapons to support them have been purchased through the defense budget. A useful way to analyze the defense program of any new administration is to compare the size and distribution of its proposed defense budgets to that of the previous administration. The size of the defense budget is usually measured in three distinct ways: in obligational authority or outlays; in current or constant dollars; and in absolute or relative terms. Like the situation which prevails with size of the defense budget, confusion about the actual distribution often results from mixing the different categories. The distribution of the defense budget is also expressed in three different ways: by budget title or appropriation account; program; and component. Every proposed defense program generates concern about its size and distribution.
