Time is running out for Congress to settle on budget

Congress returns from recess Monday to reckon with the looming threat of a government shutdown and the likelihood that no matter what resolution lawmakers reach for the stalled budget process, appropriations for the military will fall short of what the service chiefs say they need.

Temporary government funding – the second stopgap bill since 2016 spending ran out in September -- expires Friday, giving lawmakers five days to break through deep political impasse and pass an omnibus appropriations bill that includes defense.

Bipartisan leaders from both houses have been working behind closed doors to reach consensus on the omnibus deal that would not resolve long-term spending issues but would take some of the immediate burden off the Department of Defense. Before the break, service chiefs testified before the House Armed Services Committee that continuing the stopgap funding measures could devastate military readiness – halting critical training, grounding ships and aircraft and disrupting pay raises and bonuses for servicemembers

Read the full article at Stars and Stripes.