Congress has yet to reach an agreement on federal spending limits for the next two years, despite the fact that the House Appropriations Committee has already passed its version of the FY20 defense spending bill.
Lawmakers have been in discussions over a new two-year budget deal that would increase Budget Control Act spending limits, which remain in effect through FY21. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was hopeful a deal would be reached on Tuesday, but an agreement remains elusive.
Talks will continue over the coming days as lawmakers debate how to balance military and domestic spending caps. The president’s FY20 budget request sought a significant increase in defense spending, funneling money into the BCA-exempt war budget in an effort to sidestep spending caps. However, Democrats want a boost for domestic spending as well. Previous budget agreements have provided commensurate increases for defense and non-defense programs.
Raising the debt ceiling is also a part of the ongoing negotiations, and could be included in a final budget deal. However, the debt ceiling can also be addressed separately if needed, and should not derail broader budget discussions. Of course, increased spending limits are the very reason for the continued debt ceiling increases, but that reality has yet to generate a desire on the Hill to address trillion dollar deficits.
Even without a spending limit agreement in place, defense committees will continue work on FY20 legislation. The Senate Armed Services Committee is meeting this week to mark up its version of the defense authorization bill, but the committee’s House counterpart is not planning to meet until next month. Congress is out of session next week for the Memorial Day recess, and will return to Washington in June.
As editor of International Military Markets, North America, Shaun has cultivated a deep understanding of the vast defense markets in the United States and Canada. Shaun's perspective on defense procurement and budget issues has been cited in a variety of defense periodicals, including Defense News and National Defense Magazine. Further, Shaun played an integral role in the development of Forecast International's U.S. Defense Budget Forecast product, which offers an unprecedented level of insight into the Pentagon's acquisition budget. In addition to providing original analytical content for the U.S. Defense Budget Forecast, Shaun oversees an internal defense budget forecasting process involving Forecast International's team of skilled systems analysts following release of the DoD's annual budget request. Shaun is also in charge of managing Forecast International's Weapons Inventory database.
