Halberd the 16th through 18th centuries. In the British army, sergeants continued to carry halberds until 1793, when they were replaced by pikes with cross bars. The 18th century halberd had, however, become simply a symbol of rank with no sharpened edge and insufficient strength to use as a weapon. It served as an instrument for ensuring that infantrymen in ranks stood correctly aligned with each other and that their muskets were aimed at the correct level. Halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and
Authorization bill bill provides the funding needed for the agency, program, or activity that was just authorized by the enacted authorization bill. Agencies and programs must have been authorized before they can have funds appropriated to them according to the rules of the House and (to a lesser extent) the Senate. The rules are meant "to ensure that substantive and financial issues are subjected to separate and independent analysis." However, these rules are often not followed. The two types of bills - authorization bills and appropriations bills - are separated into the jurisdiction of different committees. Appropriations bills are handled by the