NDIA statement on long-term continuing resolution and the defense industry

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ARLINGTON, VA -- The National Defense Industrial Association offerings the following statement on the impact of continuing resolutions on defense spending:

NDIA submitted a letter to the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee before its January 12 hearing on the “Impact of Continuing Resolutions on the Department of Defense and Services.”

The letter, entered into the record during the hearing, highlights the negative impacts of a long-term continuing resolution on the defense industry. Supported by evidence from NDIA’s annual Vital Signs report, the letter describes the seemingly endless stop-and-start contract cycles, creating inefficiency and disruption that ripples through the defense supply chain with disproportionate effects on smaller companies.

During the hearing, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger best summarized the negative impacts of a possible CR when he said the “train wreck in front of us is entirely preventable.”

Four months into the 2022 fiscal year, the Defense Department has operated under two CRs, with the current expiring February 18. These actions cap spending to the previous year, prevent new program starts and further erode our country’s parody with competitors. As the service chiefs emphasized, this puts our advantage at risk, with a cumulative impact on modernization that will be difficult to overcome.

Also entered into the record, and highlighted during the hearing, was a multi-association letter NDIA signed with 10 other organizations that submitted to Democratic and Republican leadership in the House and Senate. The letter states: “Our organizations believe that a strong, adequately funded defense posture is vital for our economic stability and our ability to both deter and, if necessary, engage threats to our nation and our allies.” 

NDIA continues to focus on the need for an appropriations bill and will release a white paper, expected next week, detailing the negative impacts of a yearlong CR on the services and the defense industrial base.

NDIA signed the multi-association letter with: the Aerospace Industries Association, the Air Force Association, the Association of the United States Army, the Association of the United States Navy, the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States, the Global Special Operations Forces Foundation, the Marine Corps League, the National Guard Association of the United States, the Professional Services Council and the Reserve Organization of America.