WASHINGTON — Congress needs to pass a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1 to avoid a federal government shutdown.
And as bad as a shutdown would be, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned that a long-term continuing resolution (CR) freezing spending "would be devastating to our readiness and ability to execute the National Defense Strategy."
Stuck in the middle are private industry defense contractors — such as the more than 300 companies that make up the Virginia Ship Repair Association, employing more than 79,000 people and contributing more than $10 billion to the Hampton Roads economy.
Although confident that a shutdown will be averted, Sen, Mark Warner (D-Virginia) is concerned about the impact that this annual budget uncertainty on Capitol Hill has on the private sector that supports Defense Department operations.
"Putting this industry — which is extraordinarily important to Hampton Roads and is important not only in jobs but in terms of our national defense— through this yo-yo, this up and down... is fiscally irresponsible, it is irresponsible to our national security, and it is irresponsible to the men and women who do such a great job in ship repair," he said Thursday
According to the Government Accountability Office, Congress has enacted at least one continuing resolution in all but three of the past 47 fiscal years.