{"id":27005,"date":"2017-08-24T16:34:16","date_gmt":"2017-08-24T16:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/24\/pentagon-comptroller-preparing-for-short-term-continuing-resolution\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:19:53","slug":"pentagon-comptroller-preparing-for-short-term-continuing-resolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2017\/08\/24\/pentagon-comptroller-preparing-for-short-term-continuing-resolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon comptroller preparing for \u2018short-term\u2019 continuing resolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Pentagon\u2019s top budget official is preparing for the department to be operating under a continuing resolution for at least the short term, but it remains optimistic a government shutdown can be avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comptroller David Norquist told Defense News in an Aug. 23 interview that he \u201cwouldn\u2019t be surprised\u201d if Congress opts for a CR at the end of September, when the fiscal year ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy preference would be there wasn\u2019t a CR, but recognizing the timing of this year, you understand why a short CR of some limited duration\u201d may occur, he added. \u201cAs a bridge to finalizing things, this is understandable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The timing of the government\u2019s budget has been delayed all year. The Trump administration delivered its budget to Congress months later than normal order would entail, and Congress then spent most of the summer embroiled in the fight over health care reform before exiting for the August recess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When lawmakers returns in September, they will have to work out not just the budget fight<\/a> but the question of raising the debt ceiling, and deal with push from the White House for new infrastructure and tax legislation \u2014 all of which combines to leave the expectation for many that Congress will put together a short-term CR and kick the can down the road for weeks, if not months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called the idea of a CR<\/a> \u201dabout as unwise as can be,\u201d and pledged that he would be lobbying Capitol Hill to try and avoid such a situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If that does occur, Norquist \u2014 who is scheduled to appear at the Sept. 6 Defense News Conference<\/a> \u2014  hopes that the CR stays on the shorter side, saying the situation under a CR \u201cgets worse as each day goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under a CR, \u201cyou have restrictions on the movements of money, you don\u2019t have new starts, you don\u2019t have quantity increases, so even while you\u2019re waiting it\u2019s not quite the same as being held harmless,\u201d the comptroller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But certainly, in the minds of defense observers, a CR would be preferable to a government shutdown, something trade groups have begun to warn<\/a> their companies to prepare for.<\/p>\n\n\n\t