Eric Fanning as acting Air Force Secretary

In his inaugural op-ed for us, the head of the powerful Aerospace Industries Association, Eric Fanning, tackles the thorniest political and monetary question of the day for the defense community: will Congress do its job and pass a defense appropriations bill. Fanning, known for his iron grasp of facts and ability to discuss them clearly in plain English, does just that here. He suggests one structural change he thinks may improve our chances of avoiding another CR. What is it? Read on! The Editor.

In 2013, when our government endured one of the longest shutdowns in history, millions of Americans felt its impact firsthand: the furloughed single mom who was forced to spend her small savings on monthly bills; the Idaho families who couldn’t get the firewood permits they needed for the upcoming winter; the small businesses whose contractors went without work – and never recovered the lost wages.

As then-acting Secretary of the Air Force, I saw the impact in my own office. While the vast majority of the Air Force was considered “essential” – a nice description that meant working without pay – I met with workers who were forced to go home. These dedicated public servants were suddenly told that they were “non-essential” – that their work wasn’t important enough. It was a tremendous hit to morale that I had hoped to somewhat ease for my own staff, but it was certainly felt by workers across the entire government. 

Six years later, we face another deadline for federal funding. Once again, we need our leaders to act. 

Sadly, government shutdowns and continuing resolutions (CRs) have practically become a yearly tradition. Since 1976, there have been 21 funding lapses, including four over the past six years. The longest shutdown happened in the last year, when several departments were closed for 35 days. We’ve also seen the rise of continuing resolutions. Between fiscal 2010 and 2019, Congress should have enacted 120 appropriation bills by their yearly October deadline. They only finished seven – or about 6 percent. 

The increasing frequency of governmental shutdowns and CRs should concern us all. The Congressional Budget Office says the 2018-2019 shutdown reduced economic growth at the time by $11 billion dollars. And according to a bipartisan Senate report, shutdowns over the last five years have cost the federal government nearly 57,000 years of lost productivity, on top of the untold impact on morale. 

Those hours and dollars are the result of undermining hundreds of departments and programs essential to our economic success, national security, and everyday lives. During the 2018-2019 shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration Academy could not certify new air traffic controllers, even while some retired. Companies didn’t have access to the documentation or data needed for space launches. Export licenses were delayed, disrupting international supply chains and future export opportunities. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency furloughed nearly half of its staff, jeopardizing not only its security work but also recruitment for this brand-new and critical department. Shutdowns shatter our government’s ability to fully function. 

CRs are often used as a short-term solution to shutdowns, but they create their own problems, especially for our military. As Secretary of the Army, I experienced firsthand how CRs strain the way a department can structure its year. They force organizations to avoid new projects in the first quarter, delaying vital additions to our national security efforts. CRs also dilute the effectiveness of agency planning. Resources must be reserved or spread across multiple scenarios instead of efficiently used toward one optimal plan.

So it should be no surprise that the U.S. Navy said that CRs wasted $4 billion between 2011 and 2017. Or that the Army believes their 2020 fielding plan would “collapse” without a full budget this coming year, hindering their ability to test and train with new capabilities. Or that an Air Force report estimated that a year-long CR would prevent 88 new acquisition initiatives and other projects intended to strengthen and modernize our forces.

And while government departments suffer, it’s our workers who take the biggest hit, not just in terms of morale, but also on their daily lives. During the last shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal workers went more than four weeks without pay. Federal employees often receive backpay, but thousands of federal contractors never receive such a benefit. With nearly 80 percent of American workers living paycheck-to-paycheck, stable funding is essential for these workers and their families. 

This financial instability also has long-term implications on our overall workforce. In a study on the 2018-2019 shutdown, the Partnership for Public Service noted that the shutdown exacerbated the government’s problem attracting “a new generation to serve.” That’s understandable: why would the best workers want to join the government – or work for federal contractors – when the threat of a shutdown halting their paycheck or a CR restricting hiring constantly looms overhead? This is especially true for highly-skilled engineers, tech experts, and manufacturers needed in aerospace and defense. These budget crises undercut our ability to attract the best workers and build the best workforce for our future. 

The immediate solution to our current budget problems is the same as in the past: Congress and the President must finalize a full budget, not delay with another harmful CR. 

But if we want to address this continuous concern, we need to try new structural solutions. One idea is to move the end of the fiscal year to December. In 1974, Congress moved the fiscal year from July to October because of changing realities in Washington. That was 45 years ago; it’s time for another update. Aligning the fiscal year to the actual congressional schedule – which is now more closely structured to match the calendar year – could help avoid CRs, and the end-of-year holidays would add extra incentive to finish. 

Countless events in the world are uncertain and unforeseeable. But funding our government is completely within our control. After all, China doesn’t shut down its government. It’s time our leaders take responsibility and take action to control our budgetary process, for the sake of a more effective and efficient government and the millions who depend on it. 

Eric Fanning, a member of the Breaking Defense Board of Contributors, is president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, representing nearly 340 companies in the aerospace and defense sector. He was the 22nd Secretary of the Army and served as Acting Secretary of the Air Force.