Continuing Resolution

A continuing resolution (CR) is a type of appropriations legislation used by the U.S. Congress to provide stopgap funding for federal agencies when one or more of the twelve regular appropriations bills have not been enacted by the start of the fiscal year on October 1. Without a CR or full appropriations, affected agencies must shut down non-essential operations under the Antideficiency Act.

CRs typically extend funding at the prior year's levels (a "clean" CR) for a defined period — anywhere from a few days to several months. They may also include "anomalies," which adjust funding for specific programs that cannot reasonably continue at the previous rate, such as new weapons procurement or expiring authorizations. Congress can pass successive CRs covering the same fiscal year, and in some recent years has funded the entire government via CRs without ever enacting regular appropriations.

Key features include:

• Duration limits: CRs specify an end date; when it lapses, a shutdown begins unless extended.
• Rate of operations: Funding is usually pegged to the prior year's enacted level, sometimes with an across-the-board adjustment.
• Policy riders: CRs sometimes carry legislative provisions on unrelated matters, making them vehicles for negotiation.
• Full-year CRs: If Congress fails to pass regular bills, a CR can be extended to cover the entire fiscal year, locking in prior-year levels.

CRs are criticized by agency managers and the Government Accountability Office for disrupting hiring, contracting, and long-term planning. The Department of Defense in particular has repeatedly objected because new program starts and production-rate increases are generally prohibited under a CR. Despite these drawbacks, CRs have become routine: Congress has rarely passed all twelve appropriations bills on time in recent decades, making the CR a near-permanent feature of federal budgeting rather than the emergency tool it was originally designed to be.