What Is a Continuing Resolution?
How Congress keeps the government running when it misses funding deadlines
If there’s one thing Congress excels at, it’s missing deadlines. Every fiscal year kicks off on October 1, yet somehow the twelve appropriations bills ⏳ are never ready. Enter the Continuing Resolution, or CR — Washington’s fiscal snooze button. Hit it, and the government keeps running; miss it, and chaos lurks at the federal doorstep. (Terms with ↗️ link to related backgrounders; ⏳ indicates a future resource.)
What is a Continuing Resolution?
Think of a Continuing Resolution (CR) as temporary budget legislation that keeps federal agencies operating when annual appropriations bills ⏳ aren’t done by the start of the new fiscal year. Congress passes CR legislation to avoid or end a government shutdown ↗️.
Most CRs simply roll last year’s funding forward: copy-paste, not a budget remix. They may also include limited anomalies⏳ — small adjustments to funding levels or reauthorizations that prevent major disruptions.
CRs can run for days, weeks, or months — however long leadership thinks it’ll take to finish negotiations on full-year spending bills. In practice, Congress often strings together multiple CRs until an omnibus appropriations ⏳ package is ready.
Why does it matter?
CRs are the difference between business-as-usual and federal chaos. Pass one, and agencies keep paying employees and awarding contracts. Fail, and furlough notices fly while public services grind to a halt.
When a CR passes, agencies maintain essential oeprations. When it doesn’t, agencies must begin shutdown procedures — furloughing “nonessential” staff and suspending many public-facing services.
For legislative staffers, each CR becomes pressure point for extracting policy concessions or testing leadership’s leverage. The result is a funding process driven more by brinkmanship than budgeting.
While CRs prevent shutdowns, they also create problems. They freeze spending at outdated levels, delay new projects, and create uncertainty for agencies, grantees, and contractors who can’t plan for the full year.
Examples
March 2025 (Trump Administration): Senate Minority Leader Schumer reversed course overnight and voted with Republicans to pass a CR, drawing sharp criticism from House Democrats but avoiding a shutdown.
Fall 2023 (Biden Administration): Congress narrowly avoided a shutdown after last-minute votes extended funding into early 2024.
December 2022 (Biden Administration): A short-term CR gave lawmakers one extra week to pass a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill.
2018–2019 (Trump Administration): The government partially shut down for 35 days — the longest in history — after a CR lapsed amid disputes over border wall funding.
Common myths
Myth: A CR means the government is fully funded.
Reality: Not quite! It just extends existing funding — no new programs or priorities move forward.
Myth: Agencies can reallocate money under a CR.
Reality: Nope! Agencies are locked into last year’s levels and patterns unless Congress explicitly grants flexibility.
Myth: CRs are harmless.
Reality: Harmless? Only if you love frozen projects, hiring delays, and frantic last-minute spending. Relying on CRs disrupts long-term planning, hampers hiring, and increases operational costs.
How to track it live
Congress.gov — Track CRs by session. https://www.congress.gov/search?q=%22continuing+resolution%22,.
House and Senate Appropriations Committees — See where negotiations stand. https://appropriations.house.gov | https://www.appropriations.senate.gov
Congressional Budget Office — to satisfy all your nerdiest data desires https://www.cbo.gov/topics/budget
Agency Shutdown Plans: Search to see which federal offices are closed or scrambling. For example, Federal News Network’s 2025 compiled agency links
Find out more
CRS Report: Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Practices, 03/27/2025. — https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46595
CRS Report: Introduction to the Federal Budget Process, 01/10/2023. — https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46240
GAO WatchBlog: What is a Continuing Resolution and How Does It Impact Government Operations? 11/03/2022. https://www.gao.gov/blog/what-continuing-resolution-and-how-does-it-impact-government-operations