NDIA commends bipartisan re-opening of federal government

ARLINGTON, VA -- Following the reopening of the federal government, NDIA offers the following statement: 

Government shutdowns hurt the nation and its warfighters. Contractors, their employees and the services they provide the warfighter all suffer in unrecoverable resources: time, people, wages, and the intangible of lost trust. Even brief shutdowns harm military training (look no further than cancelled National Guard and Reserve training this past weekend) and have a long-term ripple effect on readiness.

For that reason, the National Defense Industrial Association applauds the congressional bipartisan agreement Monday to reopen the federal government.

However, we cannot emphasize enough that this agreement merely kicks the can of uncertainty only 17 days down the road with no definitive budget for fiscal year 2018. Vital new programs to support warfighters cannot begin, and there is little hope of getting back to normal order for the fiscal year 2019 budget--the proposal Is supposed to come the first week of February but likely is delayed given no finalized 2018 budget to fully inform it. 

NDIA encourages Congress to use these 17 days to do the hard work to pass a budget and turn its focus budget stability.

For more information or to speak to an NDIA official, please contact Evamarie Socha at esocha@ndia.org or (703) 472-3806.