Each year, in the process of regular order Congress needs to pass twelve bills funding different parts of the government and preventing a shutdown. The House has managed to pass eight of the twelve bills. The Senate has unfortunately been unable to pass a single bill. With the end of the fiscal year looming and less than three weeks left on the clock to fund the government through regular order, a Continuing Resolution, (CR), where funding is kept at the same level as the previous year until the relevant appropriations bills can be passed, appears increasingly likely.

FMA National President Craig Carter laid out the damages caused by a CR last year during a similar situation. “Continuing resolutions kneecap 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 by the eventual budget, 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,” Carter said.

Congress has a responsibility to the American people to provide them a funded and functional federal government. Risking a shutdown or relying on a CR is the sign of a failure or an abrogation of this responsibility. It wastes taxpayer money. It wastes time that can never be gotten back, and it makes it harder for the federal government to provide services critically needed by everyday Americans. FMA urges Congress to pass all twelve appropriations bills as swiftly and judiciously as possible and to fulfill their responsibilities to the American people.