The sky is not falling. Western civilization is not on the brink of extinction. Scary headlines such as Military.com’s “Troops Will Miss Paychecks Next Week Without Action on the Government Shutdown” are not credible. Our courageous military — soldiers, airmen, sailors, Marines, and Guardians — will be paid on Oct. 15.
During the Trump 45 administration, Congress failed in its responsibility to pass a Defense Appropriations Bill on time. And now it is happening again. The congressional appropriators failed to do their job and pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government, but the Pentagon will use unobligated prior-year funds to pay military members.
Typically, at this time of year, Congress passes a stopgap funding bill, known as a CR, to keep the government operating. In years past, the CR kept the government open for business but limited it to the previous year’s topline appropriation. When the stopgap legislation finally passes, senators and congressmen exclaim how they avoided a government shutdown. What they really did was pass legislation that amounted to a deposition on how Congress could not do its job. The most significant responsibility entrusted to the US legislative body by the Constitution – to pass an annual budget on time – Congress chose not to do.
President Donald Trump directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to pay the 1.3 million active-duty military by redirecting $8 billion designated for year 2024 specific research and development programs that were not executable at the current funding level or deemed unnecessary for supporting warfighters. Should the shutdown continue, Trump has other options. One is that he could invoke the Feed and Forage Act, which enables the military to obtain critical supplies such as fuel, food, and other essential items. This act was used in 2018-2019 during a 35-day government shutdown.
It is speculated that Trump has been reluctant to use the Feed and Forage Act because reprogrammed 2024 funds are available and can be utilized for immediate needs – such as paying troops – without incurring new obligations, since the money was already appropriated.
While the outlook for the Pentagon maintaining paid operating strength looks good, the same cannot be said about other sectors in the federal government. Just the News announced that the “Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said [Oct. 10] that federal worker layoffs have started … The layoffs began on the 10th day of the government shutdown.” The Reduction in Force (RIF) notices have gone out to 4,200 federal employees in agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education — excluding Pentagon personnel — identified as holding “non-essential” positions.
The government has been shut down 21 times over the past half-century for lack of appropriations bills. Americans can anticipate that this year’s political dustup will eventually subside, and a CR will be passed. In the meantime, the Democrat-led shutdown will put non-essential government employees at risk of receiving RIF notices. Active-duty military members will continue to be paid.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.