Pentagon says Congress funding fights delay programmes to counter China
- Deputy US Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks says use of continuing resolutions has ‘significant consequences’
- ‘We’ve lost probably a total of about four years’ worth of progress on our modernisation efforts,’ she adds
The Pentagon has estimated that its modernisation programme – considered essential to its efforts to deal with the “pacing challenge” that China poses – is four years behind due to funding debates in the US Congress.
Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks said on Tuesday that the department faced “significant consequences” from the short-term spending bills, or continuing resolutions (CRs), used in recent years, the latest of which passed earlier this month.
“We estimate we’ve lost probably a total of about four years’ worth of progress on our modernisation efforts,” she told the Defence Writers’ Group, adding that in the “nearly 11 years that we’ve been dealing with CRs, that is a cost you can’t buy back; you just can’t buy back time”.
Last week, US President Joe Biden signed the short-term funding bill to keep the government open and operating until early next year because Congress was unable to agree on appropriations for the fiscal 2024 budget.
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“Operating under short-term continuing resolutions hamstrings the department’s people and programmes and undermines both our national security and competitiveness,” Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the time.