Continuing Resolutions CR

A continuing resolution is a joint resolution that provides temporary appropriations, usually at the prior year's rate, for agencies whose regular appropriations bills have not been enacted. Despite the name, a CR is a law like any other: it must pass both chambers and be signed by the President. Congress has enacted at least one CR in every fiscal year since 1997, and agencies now routinely spend the first months of each fiscal year, sometimes the entire year, under one.

Most CRs run for a few weeks or months, buying time for negotiations, and many are followed by another. They typically freeze spending at the previous year's levels, prohibit starting new programs or projects, and contain a few exceptions, called anomalies, for urgent needs. A full-year CR funds an agency for the entire fiscal year without a regular bill. In March 2025 Congress passed a full-year CR covering nearly the entire government for fiscal 2025, an unusual step that left the administration broad discretion over how funds were allocated. Fiscal 2027 also began on a stopgap, with a continuing resolution signed September 2, 2026 funding the government through December 11, 2026.

Agencies and the Pentagon in particular argue that CRs waste money and delay programs, since contracts cannot be signed, new initiatives cannot begin, and spending plans must be redone repeatedly. Budget experts note that the habit of governing by CR has shifted power from appropriations subcommittees to party leaders and the White House. Proposals to enact automatic CRs that take effect whenever appropriations lapse, eliminating shutdowns, have been introduced in many Congresses without passing.