On January 18, 2024 Congress passed a third stopgap funding bill for FY24 to avoid a partial government shutdown and extend funding through March 8th, over 5 months after the start of FY24 on October 1, 2023. While this avoids an immediate government shutdown, the Department of Defense remains under a Continuing Resolution (CR), allowing the DoD to continuing existing contracts and existing work, but limiting new contracts and new work from starting. This leaves DoD officials scrambling to prepare for two potential outcomes. In scenario one, if a funding bill gets passed, the Department will have ~7 months until September 30, 2024 to accelerate spending across all of its new priorities and appropriations, leading to a compressed and frantic contracting and acquisition cycle. In scenario two, if a funding bill does not get passed and the Department ends up in a year-long continuing resolution, numerous FY24 priorities and activities will have to be cut – primarily new equipment acquisition – and new contracts will be held up for an entire year, stymieing industry growth plans and the DoD’s efforts to counter Chinese, Russian, and Iranian aggression.
