Some executives from defense trade associations are raising concerns over the potential impact of a full-year continuing resolution and the lack of a congressional deal over an omnibus federal spending measure for fiscal year 2022, Defense News reported Friday.
Arnold Punaro, chairman of the National Defense Industrial Association and a previous Wash100 awardee, said he thinks lawmakers could reach a compromise to raise defense and nondefense spending by 8 percent, but he is uncertain whether that could materialize.
“We’re still in budget chaos,” Punaro told the publication. “China’s on the march, Russia’s on the move and North Korea’s on the advance, and yet Congress is sitting on their duff, not passing a spending bill. It’s disgraceful.”
Punaro said the lack of a FY 2022 deal for defense funding, along with rising inflation, poses a challenge for Department of Defense planners that are working on the budget request for FY 2023.
Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association and a previous Wash100 Award recipient, said he is “hopeful that the momentum continues” in Congress amid concerns over the impact of budget unpredictability on the defense sector.
“The hearing painted a concerning picture of additional and unnecessary costs, as well risks to capabilities and to the industrial base in the short and long-terms. There was bipartisan agreement on how devastating a year-long CR could be,” Fanning said in a statement.
“Over the last few days, there are positive signs that the message is getting through and the top appropriators from both parties are coming the table,” he added.
