{"id":66830,"date":"2018-02-06T18:46:11","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T18:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/06\/mattis-if-congress-punts-on-budget-troops-wont-get-paid\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:51:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:51:49","slug":"mattis-if-congress-punts-on-budget-troops-wont-get-paid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/02\/06\/mattis-if-congress-punts-on-budget-troops-wont-get-paid\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattis: Year-long continuing resolution would threaten troops\u2019 pay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two days before yet another potential government shutdown, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appeared before Congress to issue a now-familiar warning: Lawmakers\u2019 inability to pass a budget<\/a> has and will continue to hurt the troops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShould you stumble<\/a> into a year-long continuing resolution, your military will not be able to provide pay for our troops by the end of the fiscal year,\u201d Mattis warned, citing the short-term funding mechanism Congress has relied upon four times<\/a> since the new fiscal year began Oct. 1 because the House and Senate cannot agree<\/a> on several domestic spending issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A continuing resolution only funds the services at the previous year\u2019s levels. If it is used to pay for the remaining months of fiscal 2018, it will come up short in paying for new service members, spare parts and programs the military has planned on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pass only a continuing resolution, Mattis warned, and the military will \u201cnot recruit the 15,000 Army soldiers and 4,000 Air Force airmen required to fill critical manning shortfalls; not maintain our ships at sea, with the proper balance between operations and time in port for maintenance; ground aircraft due to a lack of maintenance and spare parts; deplete the ammunition, training, and manpower required to deter war; and delay contracts for vital acquisition programs necessary to modernize the force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Brian Walker, the aviation technician chief with Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 242, oversees his Marines as they finish maintaining an F\/A-18D Hornet at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Oct. 27, 2017. An aviation technician\u2019s, also known as a maintainer, job is to secure the well-being of their pilots by ensuring the functionality of the F\/A-18D . (U.S. Marine Corps\/Lance Cpl. Gabriela Garcia-Herrera)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Congress is set to vote later Tuesday on a bill that would extend the continuing resolution-level funding for all other federal agencies, leaving them at last year\u2019s levels, while funding the military at the full fiscal 2018 level. It was not clear whether Democrats would support the measure, due to the cuts it would force upon other government programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\t