Efforts to approve military and government funding are at a standstill in Congress. The House failed to approve the rules for debate on a bill to fund the military twice — lawmakers didn’t even get to the final vote.
A small group of the chamber’s most conservative Republicans banned together to stop the bill from advancing.
“This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down. It doesn’t work,” Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters.
The Pentagon does not insert itself into politics. Military and civilian officials don’t like to comment on ongoing negotiations, but they aren’t afraid to explain how a government shutdown or continuing resolution will impact them.
“Many of us have been through shutdowns. They are extremely damaging to our readiness, retention and morale,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said during the Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
Kendall had a request for Congress.
“Do not put us under a continuing resolution for the first quarter of the fiscal year. Now the ship may have sailed on this request, but CRs of any length are hugely inefficient and delay much needed modernization,” Kendall said.
Kendall said the military could manage a short-term continuing resolution, but anything beyond December would do serious damage to national security. In particular, it would delay funding the Pentagon needs to advance programs meant to deter adversaries including China, Russia and Iran.
The 2024 Defense Authorization Act also authorizes the improvement and replacement of barracks that are low quality in an attempt to improve morale and retention. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office found that some military barracks had sewage overflows in bathrooms, mold and cracked pipes.