We are on the road to another fiscal year without a full federal budget … just like last year, and the year before, and every year since 1997.  

In the absence of a signed budget at the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, Congress has two options: Letting appropriations lapse, resulting in a shutdown, or passing a stopgap spending measure known as a continuing resolution (CR). A CR provides temporary government funding at current-year levels while lawmakers work on a budget for the remainder of the new fiscal year.

CRs are, to be blunt, awful. Ask any lawmaker and they will agree. Yet Congress can’t seem to find the intestinal fortitude to set partisan politics aside and keep to the schedule.

[RELATED: Understanding the Unseen Costs of a Continuing Resolution] 

Why are these resolutions so bad for our nation in general, and our national defense in particular? Here are MOAA’s top five reasons:

1. Wasted Tax Dollars. Every CR costs taxpayers billions in misaligned money, stalled or delayed projects, and unnecessary planning to combat the shutdown threat and ever-changing funding availability. The top Pentagon official estimated the 2019 CR, for example, cost DoD $19 billion.

2. A Poor Example. Servicemembers are trained to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and to uphold high standards of property accountability through inspections and measures enforced through the Uniform Code of Military Justice. We have all stood in formation and heard a leader state: “No one is going home until we find this lost piece of property.” Maybe Congress needs to have a formation on our budget.

3. Major Disruptions. CRs force changes to training schedules. They delay operations, construction, maintenance, and congressionally mandated modernization projects. They cause civilian hiring freezes, and they increase contracting costs. As one DoD official put it: “The longer a CR lasts, the more damage it does.”

4. Erosion of Trust. Placing the importance of good governance over political issues is warranted, especially when CRs add to our national debt. We would never run our own personal finances by paying late fees over and over to avoid dealing with our bills. Congress can restore some trust in the institution by sticking to the schedule.

5. Simple Scheduling. Speaking of the schedule: Congress never misses its summer August recess. It’s reasonable to expect them to stick to their whole schedule, which includes passing a full budget before Oct. 1.

[CONTACT YOUR LAWMAKERS: MOAA’s Legislative Action Center]

Budget Basics

Here’s a look at how the budget process is supposed to work:

• January or February: The president outlines White House priorities in the State of the Union address. This is often late, no matter which party controls the White House.
• First Monday in February: This is the “due date” for the administration to submit its budget request to Congress, but the release varies each year. Delays impact subsequent actions by Congress.
• Mid-March: Congressional committees submit “views and estimates” to the House and Senate Budget committees in response to the administration’s request. Committee leaders indicate preferences on budget matters for which they’re responsible.
• April 15: Congress passes a budget resolution, committing itself to broad spending levels.
• May to July: Congressional committees hold budget hearings for the upcoming fiscal year.
• August: Congress goes on summer recess.
• Sept. 30: Congress completes its work on appropriations bills for the upcoming year.

Making a Difference

MOAA’s Government Relations team has raised the CR issue to key lawmakers, but every legislator needs to hear about it from their constituents this election year.

Consider joining our Legislative Action Center, where you can find contact information for your lawmakers and send pre-written messages in support of MOAA’s advocacy priorities. Or use MOAA’s Capitol Hotline – 866-272-MOAA (6622), a toll-free line to the U.S. Capitol switchboard – to connect with your legislators’ offices and ask to speak with the military legislative assistant.

Let them know the status quo of costly CRs isn’t acceptable – not when we need to invest in the quality of life for our all-volunteer force, and when our national debt is mounting.

Keep up with the ongoing budget process and other key legislative issues at MOAA’s Advocacy News page.