WASHINGTON — When Congress returns from recess on Feb. 28, it will have exactly three days until the current continuing resolution (CR) expires for parts of the government, including the Pentagon's military construction budget.
One week later, on March 8, the other part of the CR — funding the rest of the Department of Defense and the entire federal government — will also expire.
The likelihood is that yet another CR will be needed. It would be the fourth time that has happened since last Oct. 1.
Each time it happens, the Pentagon says readiness is harmed.
"If you add up the total time spent under a CR going back to 2011, we've spent 5 years under CRs. That puts our national security at risk and prevents this department from modernizing as we continue to be constrained under existing funding levels and prevented from launching new programs. We must break this pattern of inaction," said Defense Department Deputy Press Secretary Sabina Singh.
Additionally, the House of Representatives has so far done nothing about the Senate-approved $95 billion supplemental aid package to Ukraine and Israel.
Singh said lawmakers "urgently" need to act upon that measure, too.
"And as then Vice President said in Munich last weekend, the failure to not pass the supplemental would be a gift to Vladimir Putin," she said.
A bipartisan group of House members has sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to prioritize improving the quality of life for members of the U.S. military and their families.
The House Quality of Life Panel cites "an alarming erosion of military quality of life that, if not addressed quickly, will soon place the all-volunteer force at risk."