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What is a continuing resolution?

A continuing resolution, or CR, is a temporary measure Congress can use to fund the government for a limited time. CRs are typically used to buy time for lawmakers to enact longer-term spending measures.

The passage of a CR usually means the regular process of passing the 12 appropriations bills by the start of the fiscal year has failed because of a standoff between political parties, or between Congress and the president.

While that’s not unusual, the Defense Department — as of mid-November 2019 — has operated under a CR for an average of 119 days per year during the last nine years, compared to an average of 32 days per year during the previous seven, according to the Congressional Research Service.

If Congress and the president fail to act, the government shuts down. Federal agencies are typically disrupted; nonessential operations are suspended, and federal employees and government contractors are left in limbo.

Because a CR will continue the funding rates of the previous year’s appropriations acts, it may bar an agency from starting or resuming a project for which there were no funds the previous year. Before the start of fiscal 2018, for example, the Pentagon identified 75 weapons programs that would experience delays because of the CR’s prohibition on starting new programs and because quantities would be restricted on 40 programs.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2019/11/18/what-is-a-continuing-resolution/

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Congress mulls spring continuing resolution to avoid government shutdown

With impeachment proceedings looming and budget talks stalling, Congress will likely need a stopgap spending measure for February or March, the Senate’s top appropriator said last Thursday.

A continuing resolution, or CR, would avoid a government shutdown when the last funding patch expires Nov. 21, just before Congress takes its Thanksgiving recess.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said that if the House passes a resolution to impeach President Donald Trump, it will indefinitely dominate the the Senate’s business, forestalling budget talks.

“It takes a lot of oxygen out of the air, and some business is transacted, but it will slow everything down,” Shelby told reporters, adding that a continuing resolution could be needed into February or March.

The Senate last week voted to advance the a package of fiscal 2020 domestic spending bills passed by the House, which would include nearly one-third of all nondefense discretionary spending. The Senate is set to resume consideration of the package today.

That package excludes Department of Defense appropriations, which has been snagged in a fight over border wall funding. Democrats are likely to withhold support for defense spending until a larger spending deal is reached.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2019/10/25/congress-mulls-spring-cr-to-avoid-government-shutdown/

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Lawmakers expect a stopgap spending measure to avoid an October shutdown

Despite the two-year budget deal, agencies are likely to receive a continuation of current spending levels well into the fall, Congressional aides say.

Agencies probably won’t receive new appropriations by the start of the 2020 fiscal year. With current funding set to lapse on Oct. 1, lawmakers appear resigned to pass a continuing resolution to give themselves more time to iron out the details of line-by-line appropriations bills.

The two-year budget deal hammered out primarily between House Democrats and the White House in late July set top-line spending levels, but Congress still must approve a package of 12 funding measures—or pass a CR—to avoid another government shutdown before current appropriations expire.

The House has passed most of the required annual spending bills for fiscal 2020, but lawmakers still must reconcile them with the Senate, which has yet to approve any appropriations bills for the upcoming fiscal year. The upper chamber delayed work on the spending bills until top-line funding levels were established and the deal was signed by Trump. The Senate Appropriations Committee is set to begin considering the legislation upon returning from recess next month.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/08/lawmakers-expect-stopgap-spending-measure-avoid-october-shutdown/159473/

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DoD procurement overhaul report recommendations draw both praise, critique from industry groups

The most important recommendation to come out of the third Section 809 Panel report on defense procurement reform is one that doesn’t directly relate to procurement, according to a leading industry group.

Corbin Evans, director of regulatory policy for the National Defense Industrial Association, told WashingtonExec the most crucial recommendation is for Congress to enact timely regular appropriations bills instead of continuing resolutions. Otherwise, defense acquisition will continue to suffer, regardless of what other reforms are made.

“This has been an NDIA priority for years,” he said. “It’s important to ensure that these bills are done on time and that money can be distributed in a predictable manner.”

Evans also singled out the panel’s recommendation to enable enhanced use of advanced payments at the time of contract awards to small businesses, which comprise about 75 percent of NDIA’s 1,700 members.

Keep reading this article at: https://washingtonexec.com/2019/01/section-809-report-dod-acquisition-reform/

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No, the Pentagon did not waste $28 billion

Last week, headlines blared with claims that the Defense Department had failed to spend $28 billion in time, forfeiting all that money back to the US Treasury.

The story said the Pentagon had “let $28 billion go to waste,” with “tens of billions of dollars unspent” as “time ran out.”

This would be an awesome and scandalous story, were it true. Fortunately, it’s not. Just about all of this $28 billion in taxpayer funds will be spent. What this story really highlights is the arcane complexity of the budget execution process at the world’s largest organization. The Pentagon receives a lot of criticism on many different topics, but this is one instance in which piling on is unwarranted.

Keep reading this article at: https://breakingdefense.com/2019/01/no-the-pentagon-did-not-waste-28-billion/

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