The $76 Billion Cost of a Yearlong Continuing Resolution
Inflation is making 2022 a terrible year to lack a budget. Congress must act.
By Arnold Punaro
February 8, 2022 05:03 PM ET
Unless Congress acts soon, the Defense Department will operate for the rest of the year under a “continuing resolution,” which handcuffs this year’s funding to last year’s priorities. This would be deeply misguided at a moment when the world is as dangerous as it’s been in decades.
Congress will have to face a choice come Feb. 18: fully fund the federal government, or continue playing Russian roulette with our national security.
The National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress passed on a wide bipartisan basis and which President Biden already signed into law, sets the defense topline at $790 billion. This includes funding for the DOD ($740 billion), the Energy Department’s national security activities, and most of the nation’s intelligence agencies. The 2022 authorization act contains $38 billion more than the enacted 2021 budget. As long as the Department is forced to operate under a continuing resolution, DOD will not be able to use the increased funding.
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2022/02/76-billion-cost-yearlong-continuing-resolution/361757/
