Peter1469
02-06-2018, 08:45 PM
Mattis to Congress: I'm wasting my time if you don't pass budget (http://thehill.com/policy/defense/372501-mattis-to-congress-im-wasting-my-time-if-you-dont-pass-budget)
Congress puts demands on the DoD, and does not fund them in a rational manner. When the Roman Senate did that, things didn't go well.
Defense Secretary James Mattis (http://thehill.com/people/james-mattis) on Tuesday scorched Congress for budget dysfunction that has left the Pentagon operating under stopgap spending for a quarter of the fiscal year.
Mattis made the comment while testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on the recently released National Defense Strategy and nuclear posture review.
“Congress mandated, rightfully mandated this National Defense Strategy — the first one in a decade — then shut down the government the day of its release. Today, we are again operating under a disruptive continuing resolution,” Mattis said in his opening statement. “I regret that without sustained, predictable appropriations, my presence here today wastes your time because no strategy can survive, as you pointed out, chairman, without the funding necessary to resource it.”
Mattis and other defense officials have long lamented the damaging effects of stopgap spending measures known as continuing resolutions (CRs). But his words Tuesday were particularly pointed.
Ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (http://thehill.com/people/adam-smith) (D-Wash.) shot back, saying the plan coming to the House floor shortchanges other agencies important to national security, such as the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department.
"To sit here and say, 'We're going to stand up and spend all this money on defense because it would just be wrong to prioritize other things,' is patently absurd and insulting," Smith said. "Defense is incredibly important. It's not the only thing important in keeping the peace."
The current CR, the fourth since the start of the fiscal year, expires at the end of the day Thursday.
Later Tuesday, the House will vote on another CR that’s coupled with a full year of defense spending.
The bill is expected to pass the House, but its fate in the Senate is uncertain. Democrats have demanded that nondefense spending is raised alongside defense spending, and their votes are needed to meet the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold to pass bills.
In his opening statement, Mattis did not directly reference the plan to pair full-year defense spending with a CR for the rest of the government. But he appeared pessimistic about its chances at becoming law.
Congress puts demands on the DoD, and does not fund them in a rational manner. When the Roman Senate did that, things didn't go well.
Defense Secretary James Mattis (http://thehill.com/people/james-mattis) on Tuesday scorched Congress for budget dysfunction that has left the Pentagon operating under stopgap spending for a quarter of the fiscal year.
Mattis made the comment while testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on the recently released National Defense Strategy and nuclear posture review.
“Congress mandated, rightfully mandated this National Defense Strategy — the first one in a decade — then shut down the government the day of its release. Today, we are again operating under a disruptive continuing resolution,” Mattis said in his opening statement. “I regret that without sustained, predictable appropriations, my presence here today wastes your time because no strategy can survive, as you pointed out, chairman, without the funding necessary to resource it.”
Mattis and other defense officials have long lamented the damaging effects of stopgap spending measures known as continuing resolutions (CRs). But his words Tuesday were particularly pointed.
Ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (http://thehill.com/people/adam-smith) (D-Wash.) shot back, saying the plan coming to the House floor shortchanges other agencies important to national security, such as the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department.
"To sit here and say, 'We're going to stand up and spend all this money on defense because it would just be wrong to prioritize other things,' is patently absurd and insulting," Smith said. "Defense is incredibly important. It's not the only thing important in keeping the peace."
The current CR, the fourth since the start of the fiscal year, expires at the end of the day Thursday.
Later Tuesday, the House will vote on another CR that’s coupled with a full year of defense spending.
The bill is expected to pass the House, but its fate in the Senate is uncertain. Democrats have demanded that nondefense spending is raised alongside defense spending, and their votes are needed to meet the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold to pass bills.
In his opening statement, Mattis did not directly reference the plan to pair full-year defense spending with a CR for the rest of the government. But he appeared pessimistic about its chances at becoming law.