NDIA PERSPECTIVE: Another CR, Another Blow to National Security
12/3/2019
By Wesley Hallman
What’s so bad about an extended, or worse, a year-long continuing resolution? While some see saved dollars due to spending at prior-year levels or merely delays that accelerated contracting and financing later in the year can mitigate, the insidious effects of a long-term CR mean fewer warriors with lower readiness, slowed fielding of capabilities, and a defense industrial base yet again burdened by delays and uncertainties.
Despite a two-year budget deal signed early this past summer establishing defense toplines for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, we have no National Defense Authorization Act or a signed defense appropriations bill.
Funding uncertainty followed by a year-long CR could mean $22 billion in lost purchasing power the Defense Department gained under the two-year budget agreement. That’s purchasing power needed to continue the readiness recovery along with funding critical investments, especially by the Army, to realign resourcing to the 2018 National Defense Strategy.
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2019/12/3/ndia-perspective-another-cr-another-blow-to-national-security
