Industry Leaders Cite Implications of Continuing Resolutions for DoD, Industrial Base

Corporate and trade group leaders discussed at the annual Outlook 2020 event how continuing resolutions impact the Pentagon and industry, Defense One reported Thursday.

Parsons CEO Charles Harrington cited the effect of CRs on technology development efforts. “The pace of change of technology is just ever going, ever increasing, so you can’t just take a time out and expect yourself to stay up with you adversaries and competition,” he said.

Eric Fanning, CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association and a previous Wash100 winner, mentioned the need for stability in defense appropriations.

“We have an annual budget that we create every year and gets passed every year, which is just not an effective way to plan for the Department of Defense based on how long it takes to build the equipment and to train the people who use it,” Fanning said. “Absolutely the most important thing we can do for the department and for the industrial base is to get some stability back into the process. If we can lengthen that planning timeline that’s even better.”

Hawk Carlisle, CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association and a retired Air Force general, expressed support for a bipartisan bill that would authorize Congress to approve two-year budget deals.