Sens. John McCain and Jack Reed said the military is set to lose billions of dollars in funding under a looming stop-gap budget measure, and requested Defense Secretary Jim Mattis prepare a report on the potential damage, according to a letter released Wednesday by the senators.
The Republican chairman and top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee have asked for an in-depth list of all negative effects on military services, agencies and combatant commands in the event Congress passes either a three-month or six-month continuing budget resolution, which would lock in current funding levels.
“In practice, this will result in billions of dollars in cuts to the defense budget from last year’s level — cuts that the Department of Defense can ill afford at a time of diminished readiness, strained modernization, and increasing operations,” McCain and Reed wrote in the letter.
Both senators said it is “very likely” Congress will begin the new fiscal year on Oct. 1 with another continuing resolution, echoing a recent statement by House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Mattis and other top military officials have repeatedly warned lawmakers that the lack of timely budgets, along with spending caps, has become a major issue for military readiness and that more funding uncertainty could endanger troops.
The Navy, Marine Corps, and Army have experienced a rash of deadly naval and aviation mishaps this summer that some have linked to an overburdened and underfunded military.
