A photo of the US Capitol. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — It remains unclear if the Biden Administration and Republican lawmakers will break through their debt ceiling logjam before the US begins defaulting on its loans next month, but the US military’s top leaders today sounded off on the impact such a fight could have, both for the military’s “reputation” abroad and for the ability to pay American troops on time.
House Republican leaders want to couple a debt cap increase with deep cuts to spending and social programs, issues the White House wants addressed separately. If the stalemate isn’t resolved by June 1, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told lawmakers Washington will no longer be able to borrow to pay its bills for spending Congress has already approved.
Beyond hurting the nation’s fiscal standing, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told members of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee today that there will be direct implications on the US military.
“China, right now describes us in their open speeches…as a declining power,” Milley said “Defaulting on the debt will only reinforce that thought and embolden China and increase risk to the United States.”
Austin added that such a move would also hinder work with allies and partners and prompt questions about whether the Pentagon can “execute programs.”
“But most importantly, this will affect the livelihood of our troops and our civilians, and we won’t be able to pay people like we should…and that’s something that China and everybody else can exploit,” Austin said.
Threat of a looming default is also halting lawmaker’s work on the administration’s fiscal 2024 spending plan, and further dimming any chance of Congress approving the Pentagon’s defense spending and authorization bills by Oct 1 when FY24 kicks off.
For example, this week House Armed Services subcommittees were scheduled to begin marking up the FY24 National Defense Authorization bill before the full committee embarked on its all-day vote-athon next week. But on Tuesday that plan was placed on indefinite hold while chamber leaders and the White House figure out what’s next.
“Providing for our nation’s defense is the most important responsibility that Congress has been tasked with under the US Constitution,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said in a brief statement. “I look forward to beginning the FY24 NDAA process in the near future to fulfill this critical responsibility and strengthen our national security.”
Over in the Senate, lawmakers are also holding off on plans to markup the proposed legislation.
It is unclear what impact this will all have on the department’s spending bill, but in today’s Senate appropriations hearing, Republican lawmakers did not directly address the debt ceiling debate, while some urged the committee to boost the Pentagon’s $842 billion budget request to better address inflation and prepare for a conflict against China.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., a Democrat and the chairman of the appropriations defense subcommittee, did weigh in on the convergence of factors facing lawmakers and the Pentagon.
“I can tell you what Congress can do to make things easier [for Pentagon leaders] — not default on our debt, like the House Representatives wants us to do; get a budget done on time so these guys don’t have to deal with this uncertainty of a [continuing resolution and] take the holds off the military promotions, because quite frankly, it’s flat stupid and politicizing our military,” Tester said before gaveling the subcommittee into recess.
