Congress is supposed to pass spending bills for all federal agencies, but lawmakers never did that this year. Stop-gap funding is especially hard for agencies that have to plan way ahead, like the Pentagon.
Todd Harrison is a defense analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He says, since the government’s budget will essentially stay the same for the next six months, the Defense Department can’t change its spending. Even on old programs.
"When you’ve got a program that was at the end of its life, you’re done buying something. You are stuck with buying it."