Statement By SASC Chairman John McCain On the Impact of A Continuing Resolution on the Military

Statement

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the impact of a Continuing Resolution on the military:

"I am profoundly disappointed that leadership in Congress and the White House failed to reach agreement on a budget deal. As we wait another four weeks in hopes that Congressional leaders negotiate a compromise, the military will work overtime to keep an already dire situation from getting worse. Readiness will continue to decline. Service members will not receive scheduled training. Ship maintenance backlogs will grow. All of this in the face of a world that only gets more dangerous and where threats continue to rise. As competitors like China, Russia, and North Korea continue to rapidly advance their military and modernize their weapons, the U.S. military will wait.

"The additional four week Continuing Resolution will have real consequences for the Department of Defense. It will prevent 48 new starts and 24 production increases. One particularly troublesome example of this is munitions. Earlier this year, military leaders all stressed the need to repair the munitions shortfall. As the Air Force described, "Our use of munitions in operations is out-pacing production.' The Army identified increasing procurement of munitions as its highest priority. However, the extended Continuing Resolution will cause delays to critical weapon systems, as DOD will be unable to award contracts to systems such as the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System or the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile.

"In a time when more service members are dying in routine accidents than in combat, and our sailors are working 100-hour weeks, asking the military to wait another four weeks for adequate funding is unacceptable--and it is a dereliction of the first and foremost duty of Congress to provide for the common defense."

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