WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- Delays in passing a U.S. federal budget are, unto themselves, causing more budget woes, said Thomas Mullins, a deputy assistant secretary of the Army.
"Every day the CR goes on, we're burning money," Mullins said, referring to the temporary continuing resolutions that have kept the government operating without a budget for the past 177 days.
It has taken six continuing resolutions to keep the government going since September and the current CR is due to run out April 8, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
In the meantime, while debate continues in Washington, pivoting on $61 billion in cuts passed by a Republican majority in Congress, many agencies and projects are in limbo, which comes with wasteful spending that a budget could resolve.
For example, a recently completed federal prison in Mendota, Calif., needs $49 million to ship in its first prisoners. A staff of 160, for the time being, is guarding a new facility with no convicts.
The Navy has had to pull back on repairing ships. Because of that, in Norfolk, Va., the MHI shipyard was halfway through tearing apart a 170-foot ship, the Thunderbolt, when orders for its repairs were reversed. The shipyard is now putting the ship back together again, although the repairs were never made.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has been able to include in all six continuing resolutions funding to build a moon rocket NASA says it does not want. The cost of that project is $1.4 million per day, the Post said.
