A “clean CR” is essentially a bill that extends existing appropriations, at the same levels as the prior fiscal year. On Thursday, Republicans did just that, putting together a revamped government funding proposal that would keep the government running for three more months and suspend the debt ceiling for two years, until Jan. 30, 2027. But the bill failed overwhelmingly in a House vote hours later, leaving next steps uncertain. Since the 1970s and until 2019, the government has had funding issues requiring the consideration of a CR or threat of a shutdown some 20 times.
Which government agencies would be affected by a shutdown?
- In 2013, the government shut down for 16 days – forcing employees to be furloughed, national parks to close, childcare and other services for military families to shutter, and loans to small businesses to stall.
- One nuance of the Continuing Resolution issue is that a full government shutdown may or may not happen if a CR or budget agreement cannot be reached.
- But national parks and monuments would close, and while troops would stay at their posts, many civilian employees in agencies like the Department of Defense would be sent home.
- The resulting lack of appropriations led to the shutdown of non-essential functions of the federal government for 28 days due to lack of funds.
- While continuing resolutions can help avoid government shutdowns, they should be rarely used.
- A CR can also stop being “clean” if Congress writes it in such a way that the programs carry forward, but the level of funding is adjusted for those programs.
Since FY1998, Congress has enacted 125 CRs to keep federal agencies funded. While not an ironclad rule, members of both parties typically try to avoid government shutdowns. A CR provides a quick-and-dirty legislative solution to keeping federal agencies operating, without delving into the policy debates that presumably makes enacting full appropriations acts a challenge. Since congressional legislating is a rare event, policy initiatives are often bundled into legislation that eventually must be signed into law.
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The day-to-day operations of most federal agencies are funded on an annual basis by appropriations. When those appropriation bills are not enacted by the start of the fiscal year on October 1, Congress uses a continuing resolution, or “CR,” as a temporary measure to fund government activities for a limited time. Continuing resolutions are temporary “stopgaps,” often employed to avoid a partial government shutdown and to give lawmakers more time to enact appropriations for the full year. However, programs deemed essential services, such as those related to public safety, often continue to operate even without a CR.
What is a Continuing Resolution and How Does It Impact Government Operations?
- The appropriations bills must be signed into the law by the President, although the budget resolution itself is not subject to his or her approval.
- Much to the dismay of Republicans, the Senate in recent years has failed to pass even a simple budget, a precursor to spending bills.
- One such abbreviation is “CR,” which appears in various contexts within the judicial system.
- Measures the change in selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services.
- This week, the House and the Senate passed a CR that funds the government based on FY 2014 appropriations levels.
- Such effects include the disruption of government services and programs, the creation of uncertainty about future fiscal policy, and the imposition of unnecessary costs on the economy.
“CR” stands for “continuing resolution,” and it’s a temporary spending bill that lets the federal government stay open and operating before Congress and the president have approved a more permanent appropriation. However, if Congress fails to pass legislation to fund the government before a new fiscal year begins, they can pass legislation to keep federal operations going at the current spending levels. In our government, the legislative branch holds the power of the purse, which means Congress is responsible for passing legislation to fund the government. From funding our national defense to investing in job training and public infrastructure to maintaining government operations, Congress decides how to appropriate taxpayer dollars each fiscal year.
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While temporary funding measures often avoid shutdowns, they also reflect the failure of lawmakers to reach an agreement on some or all appropriation bills for a full fiscal year. Funding the government for a full year is preferable to using a CR because it allows government agencies to appropriately plan and match their resources with their responsibilities. Predictability benefits the economy by providing certainty about government activities. Fiscal year 2025 began on October 1, and none of the 12 appropriation bills for that year have been enacted yet.
Complete Shutdowns Are Not The Only Option
The uncertainty causes interest rates to be higher and removes the impetus for business to reinvest profits. Instead businesses hold onto their money due to the uncertainty, thus hampering economic growth. Along with these security priorities, the CR also extends the charter of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, an organization that creates American jobs by helping to take American businesses global. The Bank’s charter was set to expire on October 1, 2014, but the CR has renewed its charter through June 30, 2015. Today’s WatchBlog post looks at how CRs have been used since 2010, and our work on the impacts CRs have on federal operations.
Q: Yikes. Did Congress pass a Continuing Resolution this time?
So it had to revert back to the use of CRs to keep the government open. It is a bill that sidesteps the lengthy budget process and funds the government for a specified period of time. So when Congress doesn’t do its job, then it has to pass a continuing resolution, also referred to as a short-term spending bill or a stop-gap spending measure. Military pay can be affected unless there is legislation or some other provision to prevent a delay in pay for troops. That said, the Coast Guard once experienced major delays in paying their troops during 2019 because the Department of Homeland Security (which the Coast Guard falls under) was not funded for a time. what does cr stand for in government Basically, during a full shutdown, all federal agencies will follow its own shutdown program.