Should the House Express That Stopgap, Continuing Resolution Funding Bills Undermine the Military's Readiness? (H. Res. 983)

What is H. Res. 983?

(Updated December 10, 2018)

This resolution expresses the sense of the House that the U.S. now faces a more complex and grave set of threats than at any time since the end of World War II, and that using continuing resolutions to fund defense activities puts servicemembers at risk, harms national security, and aids America’s adversaries. Continuing resolutions are used to extend funding for the federal government at previously appropriated levels to prevent a lapse until Congress appropriates new funding.

As a simple resolution, this legislation wouldn’t advance beyond the House if passed or have the force of law.

Argument in favor

There’s broad, bipartisan agreement that the budgeting process in Congress isn’t working and the frequency of blanket, short-term funding extensions in recent years has undermined the U.S. military’s readiness, put servicemembers at risk, and emboldened America’s adversaries.

Argument opposed

Rather than passing a non-binding, “statement” resolution about how bad short-term continuing resolutions are for the military the House should spend its time sending appropriations bills to the Senate so such a resolution is unnecessary in the future.

Impact

The House of Representatives; and the military.

Cost of H. Res. 983

As a non-binding resolution, this bill has no cost.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) introduced this resolution in response to Congress’s failure to pass appropriations bills on schedule, forcing lawmakers to rely on short-term continuing resolutions that simply previous extend funding until a spending deal is reached. Over the last four years Congress has had to enact 11 bills to that effect, and funding lapsed twice resulting in short government shutdowns.

Media:

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