{"id":53188,"date":"2021-04-22T16:10:51","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T16:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/04\/22\/smith-again-rips-white-house-budget-delays\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:57:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:57:57","slug":"smith-again-rips-white-house-budget-delays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/04\/22\/smith-again-rips-white-house-budget-delays\/","title":{"rendered":"HASC Chairman Smith again rips White House budget delays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., doubled down Thursday on his warning<\/a> that White House dawdling on its budget submission to Congress will create a crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at an American Enterprise Institute event, Smith reiterated his admonition from last week: Without a submission by May 10, Congress won\u2019t have enough time to complete the legislative process before the end of the new fiscal year, Oct. 1. That virtually guarantees the need for a stopgap continuing resolution<\/a> to avoid a government shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has not been made clear to me that that folks [in the White House] understand this: If we don\u2019t get the budget by a certain timeframe, we can\u2019t mark up the appropriations bills, and the defense bill,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIf we slip past the middle of May, my staff tells me, we will not be able to do any of those things before August.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The veteran lawmaker said he would be surprised if Congress cancelled its August recess, which means lawmakers would have only three weeks in September to do a job that typically takes all summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom a White House perspective, \u2018well we don\u2019t need to pass the budget until Oct. 1, so what\u2019s the rush?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThere are a couple of things that happen between when you submit it to us and we send it back to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress rarely, if ever, leaves a president\u2019s budget untouched, and Smith suggested the White House could submit one for lawmakers to fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would try to be respectful, and not hurting anyone\u2019s feelings, but the White House budget doesn\u2019t have to be perfect,\u201d Smith said, adding: \u201cWe will make changes. So if there\u2019s something in there that you don\u2019t like, it isn\u2019t exactly the way you want it, there is time to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t