John Ferrari

The U.S. government appropriated $1 trillion for defense, with major spending items including $32.6 billion for “Other Procurement, Air Force” and $35.2 billion for "Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide." Critics note that the system is not set up to be transparent, creating a 'black box' regarding military funding decisions, which ProPublica plans to investigate.

ProPublica is examining U.S. military budgeting, spending, and contracting because issues like delays and cost overruns are often opaque to taxpayers. Experts are needed as Congress considers increasing the defense budget to a record $1.5 trillion next year. The investigation seeks to untangle how the Pentagon spends taxpayer money.