Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said it is unclear how Congress will keep the government funded when the current continuing resolution (CR) runs out Dec. 8. “
I don’t see how this ends,” Smith said Nov. 15 at a special operations policy forum. “Increasingly, there are people who are against a CR. Nobody wants a government shutdown. There aren’t appropriations bills that we can pass. Every single option for how this fiscal nightmare ends is politically impossible. So what happens? I don’t know. It’ll be interesting to watch.”
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that when Congress reaches a fiscal year 2018 budget deal, the legislation is unlikely to exceed the Budget Control Act (BCA) cap for defense by the $85 billion proposed by the FY 2018 defense authorization conference report. But Reed, who spoke at the forum, expects part of the increase to become law.
“It’s not a hollow authorization,” Reed said. “My sense is when we do come to an agreement, it probably won’t be plus-80, but it will certainly be much, much more than the BCA, indeed much more than the president’s budget proposals. It’ll be aspirational to get to the point we really need, but it will be significant.”
Pentagon spokesperson Dana White pointed out at a press conference that the government has been operating under a continuing resolution for 1,060 days. The Pentagon needs Congress “to pass a robust and predictable budget,” White said. “We need an F.Y. ’18 appropriations budget before December 8th. CRs are wasteful. They’re inefficient. They delay…maintenance and they increase anxiety in the industrial base, as well as in local communities. They have a negative impact on the economy, as well as local communities. It’s just a waste of money and we need to be able to plan in advance.”
