H. Res. 983, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Nation now faces a more complex and grave set of threats than at any time since the end of World War II and that the continued use of continuing resolutions to fund defense-related

Floor Situation

On Tuesday, July 10, 2018, the House will consider H. Res. 983, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Nation now faces a more complex and grave set of threats than at any time since the end of World War II and that the continued use of continuing resolutions to fund defense-related activities puts servicemen and servicewomen at risk, harms national security, and aids the adversaries of the United States, under suspension of the rules. This resolution was introduced on July 6, 2018 by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and was referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Summary

H. Res. 983 demonstrates the sense of Congress recognizing the critical importance of completing the fiscal year 2019 appropriations process for the Department of Defense prior to the beginning of fiscal year 2019.

Background

As with regular appropriations bills, Congress can draft a Continuing Resolution (CR) to provide funding in many different ways. Under current practice, a CR is an appropriation that provides either interim or full-year funding by referencing a set of established funding levels for the projects and activities that it funds (or covers). Such funding may be provided for a period of days, weeks, or months and may be extended through further continuing appropriations until regular appropriations are enacted, or until the fiscal year ends. In recent fiscal years, the referenced funding level on which interim or full-year continuing appropriations has been based was the amount of budget authority that was available under specified appropriations acts from the previous fiscal year.[1]

The lack of a full-year appropriation and the uncertainty associated with the temporary nature of a CR can create management challenges for federal agencies. Department of Defense (DOD) faces unique challenges operating under a CR while providing the military forces needed to deter war and defend the country. For example, an interim CR may prohibit an agency from initiating or resuming any project or activity for which funds were not available in the previous fiscal year (i.e., prohibit new starts). Such limitations in recent CRs have affected a large number of DOD programs. Before the beginning of FY2018, DOD identified approximately 75 weapons programs that would be delayed by the FY2018 CR's prohibition on new starts and nearly 40 programs that would be affected by a restriction on production quantity.[2]

By its very nature, an interim CR can prevent agencies from taking advantage of efficiencies through bulk buys and multiyear contracts. It can foster inefficiencies by requiring short-term contracts that must be reissued once additional funding is provided, requiring additional or repetitive contracting actions.[3]

DOD has started the fiscal year under a CR for 13 of the past 17 years (FY2002-FY2018) and every year since FY2010. The amount of time DOD has operated under CR authorities during the fiscal year has increased in the past 9 years and equates to a total of more than 38 months since 2010.[4]

On January 19, 2018, Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated, ‘‘As hard as the last 16 years have been on our military, no enemy in the field has done more to harm the readiness of the U.S. military than the combined impact of the Budget Control Act’s defense spending cuts, worsened by us operating, 9 of the last 10 years, under continuing resolutions, wasting copious amounts of precious taxpayer dollars.” Secretaries of Defense appointed by Presidents of both parties have warned about the damage continuing resolutions cause to the readiness of our Armed Forces.

Cost

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has previously estimated that enacting legislation of this kind would have no impact on the federal budget.

Staff Contact

For questions or further information please contact Ryan Hofmann with the House Republican Policy Committee by email or at 2-6674.