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LEGISLATIVE NEWS THAT AFFECTS YOU Budget Impasse

With limited time to pass a defense appropriations bill and a stalemate in the Senate over sequestration, the government could be headed toward another shutdown in October.

A

s budget negotiations break down in the Senate, a high- stakes game of political posturing

means the government could be heading toward another shutdown in October. “The longer we wait, the more likely

we face this showdown and shutdown,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). The House and Senate expect to have only 10 days to work together on the de- fense appropriations bill in September. With such a limited time frame, many on Capitol Hill are beginning to see the need for a continuing resolution (CR). Under a CR, DoD is funded at existing

levels until Congress can reach an agree- ment on funding for the remainder of the fiscal year. Without legal authority to spend money, nonessential DoD functions cease. Durbin opposes a CR, calling it “a mind-

less extension of the government budget from the previous year … that is not going to afford us the opportunity to do the right thing or debate important issues.” Congress cannot come to an agree-

ment over spending cuts imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011, also known as sequestration. While the House passed its defense

appropriations bill in June, the Senate remains stuck at an impasse. Progress on the Senate’s appropriations bill was scut- tled after disagreements over the nature of how the Pentagon would be funded. Earlier this year the administration requested a Pentagon budget exceeding

sequestration’s budget caps by $38 billion. The Senate Appropriations Committee provided the funding requested but used se- questration-exempt war accounts to pay for base operations. This budgetary gimmick is at the center of the current stalemate. The White House has threatened to veto any defense-spending bill using this method. “Congress still has time to come to

an agreement on funding DoD,” says Col. Mike Hayden, USAF (Ret), MOAA director of Government Relations. “A shutdown scare does nothing but add ad- ditional stress to military families.”

Threat to VA T

Health Care Rising demands and a budget shortfall strain the VA.

he VA is facing a $2.6 billion budget deficit this year, accord- ing to VA officials. Sloan Gibson,

deputy secretary of the VA, told lawmakers the department needs the money to bridge the gap of the projected shortfall. According to Gibson, the budget deficit

is largely a result of increased demand for care outside of VA facilities and the rising costs of expensive hepatitis C treatments. A full round of hepatitis C treatments can run upward of $100,000. But Congress might not be so quick to hand over the money. Citing a “startling

SEPTEMBER 2015 MILITARY OFFICER 29

Take Action Keep up-to-date on legislation affecting the military community, read about MOAA’s legislative initiatives, and find and contact your elected of- ficials at www.moaa.org/ takeaction.