Federal Managers Association
Press Release
- FMA URGES HOUSE AND SENATE TO PASS CONTINUING RESOLUTION COMPROMISE – December 2, 2021
Alexandria, VA – On December 2, 2021, Congressional leaders in the House and Senate announced agreement on a compromise for a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the federal government through February 18, 2022. Federal Managers Association (FMA) National President Craig Carter made the following statement in response to its announcement:
“The Federal Managers Association supports the compromise the House and Senate reached on the latest continuing resolution. As I said when Fiscal Year 2021 ended, a CR is definitely preferable to a government shutdown and will keep America’s hard working federal employees doing their Congressionally-mandated jobs, and it is even more important now that we’re in the holiday season. However, a CR is never preferable to budgets passed in a timely manner. While we support this short-term Band-Aid, CRs hinder the ability of the government and the military to plan for the fiscal year ahead. Key positions cannot be filled with new hires. Critical projects cannot begin because there is no guarantee they will be funded, and a lack of resources to lay the groundwork even if they are funded. Contractors and small businesses suffer unnecessarily. The total cost to taxpayers and the government as a result of the uncertainty from any CR is reliably in the billions of dollars.
“We understand this CR faces hurdles between now and tomorrow night, when the current CR expires. FMA urges Congress to do the right thing and keep the federal government from shutting down. Beyond that, we continue to urge both chambers of Congress to return to regular order in carrying out their Article 1, Section 8, duty of providing for the common defense and general welfare of the United States by passing all twelve appropriations bills in a timely manner going forward. We are already more than two months into the fiscal year, and agencies need full funding, which is critical to enabling federal workers to carry out their crucial missions on behalf of the American people.”