Two Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee asked Capitol Hill leaders on Thursday to fund the Defense Department at the level proposed in the fiscal year 2017 defense policy bill, instead of passing another continuing resolution through early next year.
GOP Reps. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Michael Turner of Ohio spearheaded the letter to Speaker Paul Ryan, which lays out the “devastating” impacts of a long-term continuing resolution on the Pentagon, especially a freeze on production for programs like the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 and the new bomber built by Northrop Grumman.
“Given the current and future threats to our national security, we strongly urge you to work with your colleagues to craft a funding measure that provides our service members with the resources they need to carry out their important missions,” the letter said.
The topline of the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which the House will consider on Friday, is $618.7 billion, about $3.2 billion higher than the president’s request. The two members wrote that because the bill is “expected to quickly and resoundingly pass the House and advance to the Senate without delay,” the vast majority of Congress clearly supports this funding level.
“Given the breadth of support for the funding levels authorized in the NDAA, it is deeply concerning that the House may vote next week on an appropriations measure that is inconsistent with the authorized funding included in the NDAA,” the lawmakers wrote. “We cannot support any measure that falls short of funding the Department of Defense at levels consistent with or above the levels set by the FY2017 NDAA.”
Congress is considering a continuing resolution that will stretch through early next year, meaning the Pentagon will be forced to operate under the fiscal 2016 spending level for at least half of fiscal 2017.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter this week warned Congress in a letter that a continuing resolution could impact the fight against the Islamic State, which is making “careful but steady progress” driving the terrorist group out of Mosul in Iraq.
