Freezing the Defense Budget? with Ret. Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro

In this episode of the RealClearDefense Podcast we speak with Retired Marine Major General Arnold Punaro about Congressional battles over defense spending and the impact of a possible yearlong Continuing Resolution on the military and intelligence communities, “Right now we’re in probably the worst situation I’ve seen in 50 years of doing this.” Although the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act funding the military passed with bipartisan support, the appropriations bill has not. This puts the entire military and much of the intelligence community under a Continuing Resolution since October 1, freezing new spending, stalling dozens of major programs, and holding spending military-wide to 2021 levels. In a time of rising inflation, the effect is actually a major cut. Now, some members of Congress are proposing extending the Continuing Resolution for up to a year. What would that mean for defense? Is there a way through the impasse?