NORFOLK, Va. — Congress last week passed its third consecutive stopgap continuing resolution (CR) since October. So, the government didn't shut down as feared.
But that doesn't mean there isn't some pain.
The effects of short-term CRs harm Pentagon contracting for programs such as shipbuilding and ship repair because spending is frozen at the prior year's appropriation levels.
"A continuing resolution means you're stuck in the past. That, even though life has changed, you can't adapt to those changes," said Professor Bob McNab, who is the chair of the Department of Economics at Old Dominion University.
In an interview with 13News Now on Monday, McNab, who is also the director of ODU's Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, said the lack of a full FY24 budget isn't good news for any one of the more than 250 businesses that do business along the Hampton Roads waterfront.
"Defense contractors are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock is, the Department of Defense saying we've got all this work that needs to be done. And the hard place is Congress just not doing its business," he said.