Should the House Express That a Lack of Stable, On-Time Military Funding Hurts National Security? (H. Res. 995)

What is H. Res. 995?

(Updated April 21, 2019)

This resolution would express the sense of the House that failing to provide the military with full, stable, and on-time funding for defense activities puts servicemembers at risk, harms national security, and aids America’s adversaries. It’d add that the House is committed to ending the funding uncertainty that has been characterized by the use of continuing resolutions, which extend funding over the short-term to avoid government shutdowns, and call on the Senate to join in those efforts. Further, the resolution states that the U.S. “now faces a more complex set of threats than at any time since the end of World War II” in reference to the threats posed by Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and terror groups.

As a simple resolution, this legislation wouldn’t advance beyond the House if passed or have the force of law.

Argument in favor

There’s broad, bipartisan agreement that the budgeting process in Congress isn’t working and the frequency of blanket, short-term funding extensions in recent years has undermined the U.S. military’s readiness, put servicemembers at risk, and emboldened America’s adversaries.

Argument opposed

Rather than passing a non-binding, “statement” resolution about how bad short-term continuing resolutions are for the military the House should spend its time sending appropriations bills to the Senate so such a resolution is unnecessary in the future.

Impact

The House of Representatives; and the military.

Cost of H. Res. 995

As a non-binding resolution, this bill has no cost.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) introduced this resolution in response to Congress’s failure to pass appropriations bills on schedule, forcing lawmakers to rely on short-term continuing resolutions that simply previous extend funding until a spending deal is reached. Over the last four years Congress has had to enact 11 bills to that effect, and funding lapsed twice resulting in short government shutdowns.

This legislation has the support of 8 cosponsors, all of whom are Republicans.

Media:

• Countable (Context)