When asked by Senate Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-ND) to analyze the massive growth in war spending, CBO could point to general expensing areas of supplemental budget requests, but because of lack of detail in such requests, it could not provide a detailed accounting. However, CBO did find a slew of expenses, like acquiring next-generation aircraft, that the Defense Department would undertake in the absence of the wars. When federal agencies request funding during the normal appropriations process, they submit what are known as "budget justification" documents, which explain an agency's budget request in quite some detail (see e.g., the Education Dept.'s FY 2008 budget request justification materials). However, the emergency supplemental requests made by the administration for war spending do not include similarly detailed documents. Although the detail in such documents improved in 2007, specific data on war spending for earlier years is simply not available, severely limiting the ability of CBO to analyze and report on war spending. The supplemental budget requests submitted between 2002 and 2006 contained little detailed information on war expenses. DoD provided detailed justification materials for its regular budget request but did not submit similarly detailed information for its war-related expenses. In February 2007, DoD expanded the quantity of justification material submitted with its requests for war funding. In addition to providing more informative summary material, it prepared budget justification materials for each appropriation, similar to those provided for the regular budget....[B]ecause similarly detailed information is not available for 2005 or for earlier years, a detailed analysis of the changing patterns of spending is impossible.

ThinkProgress notes that a government-run website that aggregates government-produced economic data is shutting down because of budgetary constraints. The website in question, EconomicIndicators.gov, is a nifty tool for the public not especially versed in economics navigating the various federal agencies that report economic data.

President Bush signed the economic stimulus package this afternoon. Bipartisanship reigns. Whoopee. The White House transcript is here. Raise your hand if you're not breaking out the champagne. The lard-up was not as bad as it could have been. But the fundamentals of stimulus-palooza were wrong at the start and wrong at the signing. Borrow and spend may be good politics, but it is bad policy. Hillary wins. -- Michelle Malkin

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize and the Size of the Stimulus

This afternoon, President Bush signed the ballyhooed bipartisan bill that will provide a hundred billion bucks to Americans and, as a bonus, might simultaneously serve to stimulate the stagnant economy, so long it sparks spending on consumer items.

What does this mean for you? Do you get a rebate under the plan and, if so, how much of one? How do you sign up?