KICKING THE CAN: While relieved that Congress avoided a highly disruptive shutdown of the federal government by approving another short-term continuing resolution, the Pentagon continues to bemoan the cumulative effects of continually kicking the can just a bit farther down the road. “The department has been under a CR for the past 9 years, for 1,081 days,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said yesterday. “Nothing’s had a greater impact on combat readiness than CRs.” Hours later, Congress voted to extend the current CR by two weeks. Until a real budget deal is struck, the Pentagon and the rest of the federal government, cannot spend any more money this year than it did last year on any particular program. Even another two-week delay has real consequences, Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist told reporters yesterday.
For example, America’s long-running wars have depleted the stockpiles of bombs and missiles used to battle the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, and the proposed new budget includes money to ramp up production of high-demand munitions to replenish the inventory. But Norquist says as long as spending is frozen at last year’s levels, that initiative cannot begin. “Commanders asked for it. The secretary signed off on it. [The Office of Management and Budget] and the White House submitted it, and if you have seen the congressional marks, they have been very supportive of the administration’s budget,” Norquist said. “What the CR says is stop, wait. Don’t award that contract yet, which delays when you begin to increase the quantity and the production.”
