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NGAUS is urging Congress to come together this week and pass a fiscal 2024 defense appropriations bill.
Retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the NGAUS president, sent a letter today to congressional leaders urging lawmakers to pass a defense spending bill at no less than the $886 billion enacted recently in the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
The Defense Department is currently operating on a stopgap budget known as a continuing resolution, which funds programs at fiscal 2023 levels with no new programs.
The current CR, the fourth Congress has enacted since the fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2023, expires Friday, March 22.
"Our nation faces many threats, both at home and abroad, which makes timely and adequate appropriations critical," McGinn wrote. "Another continuing resolution would diminish national security and the capabilities of the armed forces by harming readiness, modernization, and quality of life programs.
"These impacts inherently harm our service members and their families," he continued. "A CR of any type reduces the Guard’s ability to maintain interoperability and serve as the primary combat reserve of the Army and Air Force."
The letter went to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
The association's letter is available here.
— By John Goheen
