The Air Force’s head of acquisition, Andrew Hunter, stated that a full-year continuing resolution for fiscal 2024 would have “absolutely devastating” effects on key programs. The latest stopgap deal, passed in January, funds the government through March 8 and imposes a 1% cut from fiscal 2023 funding levels if the government continues to operate under a CR past April 30, 2024.
The Pentagon is currently operating under its third continuing resolution for fiscal 2024 as Congress continues to draft defense spending legislation. If a continuing resolution remains in place on April 30, 2024, all federal agencies would face a 1% cut from fiscal 2023 funding levels. This uncertainty has prompted concern from Air Force officials.
The continuing resolution has caused significant delays in modernization plans for the Air Force, according to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. Initiatives in the service’s FY24 budget request, including the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, remain unfunded.
The 1% cut would reduce the Air Force and Space Force’s buying power by nearly $13 billion and put $2.8 billion in space modernization projects on hold. This would have an outsized impact on the Space Force, which requested $30 billion in FY24, as the $2.8 billion in stalled modernization projects represents nearly 10% of the service’s total budget.
Funding delays are having “an acute effect” on the Space Force as it continues to grow, according to Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman. The Space Force’s budget has nearly doubled since it was created in 2019, and the funding delays are hampering its ability to carry out required missions.
