This Is How The Pentagon Spends Its $645.7 Billion Annual Budget

If Congress and the White House don't strike a deficit-reduction deal, cuts kick into the Pentagon's $645.6 billion annual budget. Here's what that means:

Even as civil war rages on in Syria and the President makes the case for intervention, Congress turns back to their yearly fall obsession - the budget. As we near a government shutdown, House Republicans are delaying a vote on a measure that would keep the government running for now. Why? Obamacare. If Congress cannot come to a resolution of the budget, we could see cuts that could affect the very military we're considering using in Syria. Today we take a look back at an old fact that dives into what budget cuts might do to the military.

The Pentagon, whose budget has nearly doubled in the past decade to $645.7 billion, may soon face budget cuts of nearly $50 billion per year for the next ten years - atop an almost equal reduction program already underway. The new reductions kick in automatically in the event that Congress and the White House cannot strike a bargain by the end of September.

Face the Facts USA is a project of The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. Would you like the "Fact of the Day" beamed straight to your email inbox? Sign up here. For more fun stuff, follow them on Twitter @FaceFactsUSA, or like them on Facebook.