A few days ago, Doug Hall, NPP’s new Executive Director, made the case that the issues dominating the current news cycle all come back to the federal budget: Iraq, unemployment benefits, student loans, and foreign aid.

Yet it can hard to understand how the federal budget actually plays out in your state, city, or Congressional District. So NPP recently joined with the Investigative News Network to give journalists an overview of our tools for localizing the federal budget.

What’s the cost of the Iraq war to taxpayers in your town? If you could reallocate those tax dollars, what would you buy instead?

How much does your state contribute towards foreign aid? How much does your Congressional District chip in for the Pentagon's budget every hour? What about education? The environment?

The above slides show you how to use our interactive data to answer these questions. You don’t have to be a wonk or a budget expert—just someone who wants to understand how the federal budget, the document that outlines our nation’s priorities, affects her community.

Questions about our tools? We're always available to help: research@nationalpriorities.org.