WASHINGTON - Congress passed the second continuing resolution of the 2018 fiscal year on December 7, funding the government at FY17 levels through December 22. The move avoided a government shutdown, as the previous CR expired December 8. Congress now has two weeks to either reach a deal on the FY18 budget, or to pass another CR to provide more time.

The president met with congressional leaders on December 7 in an effort to negotiate a potential two-year budget deal, which could guide spending in both FY18 and FY19. Unable to find a permanent alternative to the Budget Control Act, which placed limits on both defense and non-defense spending, Congress relied on a pair of two-year budget deals that provided partial relief from the spending caps in FY14/FY15 and FY16/FY17.

There is currently no deal in place for FY18. The president's FY18 budget request exceeded national security spending caps by some $54 billion, and congressional defense committees have called for even higher spending than that. The options available to Congress have not changed since the passage of the BCA: pass legislation to permanently eliminate or alter the spending caps, pass legislation to temporarily or partially adjust the caps, or funnel money into the Overseas Contingency Operations account, which is not subject to spending limits.

Lawmakers will likely try to utilize a combination of the last two options in order to maximize defense dollars, but it remains to be seen how much funding the DoD will actually receive. A final FY18 spending bill will likely fall well below the mark set by Congressional defense committees thus far, which have sought upwards of $700 billion. It is even possible that spending could fall below the level of the FY18 request. For Congress, the clock is ticking.

Source: Forecast International - International Military Markets
Associated URL: https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2017/12/07/us-congress-avoids-government-shutdown-at-least-for-two-more-weeks/
Author: S. McDougall, Defense Analyst