Congressional staffers say they expect the Defense Department to begin fiscal year 2020 on a stopgap continuing resolution, despite lawmakers having already agreed to a broader bipartisan budget deal. "It's very likely," one staffer said. "Hard to imagine a scenario where we don't do one." Staffers said the CR is likely to stretch through the end of November, partly because Senate appropriators have yet to begin marking up any of their 12 annual spending bills. Congress is scheduled to return to session Sept. 9, leaving only 13 workdays before the expiration of federal funding. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, like a host of other secretaries before him, has warned that a CR will have a negative impact on the Pentagon. "It is vital, however, that Congress passes the [National Defense Authorization Act] and defense appropriations bills on time for the coming year," he said during an Aug. 28 Pentagon press conference. "As I've expressed to members of the Congress on many occasions ~ to include yesterday — continuing resolutions harm our military readiness and stifle our modernization efforts. As such, I urge Congress to work together in a bipartisan manner to ensure the defense bills are passed by Oct. 1."
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