As I write this article in the middle of August, yet again, we face an all-too-familiar situation in the defense legislative arena.The House has passed its versions of the defense authorization bill, the defense appropriations bill and the VA/Military Construction appropriations bills, while the Senate has passed none of those.It is unlikely that the Senate will complete their versions by the time the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 since there are only 16 legislative days between the time they return from recess and that date.If they don’t finish, the Congress would need to pass a continuing resolution to fund defense at current levels.The continuing resolution (CR) process is fraught with problems as well since the two parties have very different ideas of how long the CR should last ranging from two months to a full year!The Department of Defense is saddled then with more funding uncertainty than ever.Speaking of uncertainty, we have not even mentioned the specter of sequestration which hovers over all of the legislative issues mentioned above.AUSA President Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., has written a letter to key members of Congress urging them to put the nation’s fiscal process back in order so that our Army and its fellow services can maintain readiness and their ability to defend the nation.He said in part, "All of us understand that the Army must be smaller in an era of fiscal constraint, however, I cannot emphasize enough that sequestration with its rigid implementation and lack of responsible oversight does not allow the Army leadership the funding certainty or financial flexibility to responsibly structure, fund and maintain the Army of the future."In a recent "Message from the President," he said, "It strikes me that what has been created by sequestration is irresponsible, allowing all to say ‘not my problem, when in reality it is a problem we all must work together to solve."Adding, "Join me by contacting your members of Congress and urging them to pass legislation that will end sequestration. Visit the ‘Legislative Agenda’ page on AUSA’s website www.ausa.org. Click on the ‘Contact Congress’ link and then on the prepared letter ‘Stop Sequestration Now’ to let your representatives and senator know that it is time to act."In the midst of all these twists and turns on the Hill, AUSA’s Annual Meeting and Exposition is just around the corner.The AUSA Government Affairs staff is gearing up for the Congressional Staff Breakfast that we host during the Annual Meeting.Last year it drew over 600 guests – a record high.This is a way for AUSA to show your Association’s appreciation to the congressional staff for all they do for the nation and the armed forces in the course of their work.The secretary of the Army, John McHugh, speaks to the group that includes senior Army military and civilian personnel as well as congressional staff members.After breakfast, the guests are invited to tour the exhibit halls.Right now, on Capitol Hill in August, the halls are quiet and members of Congress are in their home districts.When they return, AUSA will weigh in appropriately prior to the completion of the defense bills and during conference to be sure that members are aware of our stand on key issues.So, while August brings relative quiet to the Hill, AUSA’s Government Affairs team is busy preparing to re-engage on the Hill.Thank you for being members of the Association, and thank you for helping us help our soldiers and their families.