Congress funds the federal government each year through 12 separate appropriations bills, but lawmakers have finished all 12 on time in only three of the past 47 fiscal years, according to the Government Accountability Office. When the annual deadline passes without new spending laws in place, Congress turns to a continuing resolution, or CR, a temporary measure that keeps agencies running at existing funding levels until a fuller deal is reached.
What Is a Continuing Resolution?
A continuing resolution is a stopgap spending bill that lets federal agencies keep operating when Congress and the president have not agreed on final appropriations for the fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, according to the Government Accountability Office. Without a CR or completed appropriations bills in place, agencies lose their legal authority to spend money, which triggers a funding lapse commonly known as a government shutdown.
A CR does not set new spending priorities. It generally extends the prior year's funding formulas and program levels for a fixed window of time, giving lawmakers more time to negotiate the full-year bills without interrupting agency operations. Congress can pass a CR covering the entire government or limit it to only the agencies whose full-year bills have not yet cleared.
Why Does Congress Rely on Stopgap Funding So Often?
The Government Accountability Office found that Congress passed 47 continuing resolutions between fiscal years 2010 and 2022, ranging from one day to 176 days in length. In three of those years — fiscal 2014, 2018 and 2019 — no continuing resolution was enacted in time, and funding lapsed into a shutdown.
Disagreements over overall spending totals, how funds are divided among agencies, and policy provisions attached to individual bills are common reasons the full appropriations process stalls before the Oct. 1 deadline. A CR effectively pauses those disputes without resolving them, which is why the same standoffs can recur when the stopgap itself expires.
What Happened the Last Time Funding Lapsed?
The most recent lapse ran 43 days before the House passed the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, by a vote of 222-209, according to the House Appropriations Committee. The measure extended funding for most of the government through Jan. 30, 2026, while also enacting full-year appropriations for the Legislative Branch, Military Construction-VA, and Agriculture-FDA, the committee said.
Before that vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said lawmakers were giving "a lot of thought" to preventing another shutdown, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and Thune would "work through the process and get the appropriations bills done," Fortune reported. President Trump, signing the November funding deal that first reopened the government, said the administration would "never give in to extortion," according to the same report.
What's the Next Funding Deadline?
Government funding for the current fiscal year runs out again on Sept. 30, 2026, the statutory end of the federal fiscal year that the Government Accountability Office cites as the annual trigger point for a lapse if new appropriations or another continuing resolution are not enacted first. Congress can act before that date to pass full-year bills, another stopgap, or some combination covering different parts of the government, as it did in January.
How Does a Continuing Resolution Move Through Congress?
- Appropriators miss the deadline. One or more of the 12 annual spending bills has not passed both chambers and been signed into law before the fiscal year ends.
- Leadership drafts a stopgap. House and Senate appropriations leaders negotiate a bill extending current funding levels, sometimes with narrow exceptions called anomalies that adjust specific programs' funding rate or authority.
- Both chambers vote. The House and Senate must each pass the same version of the CR, as they did with the 222-209 House vote on the January 2026 measure.
- The president signs or vetoes it. Like any other bill, a CR requires the president's signature to become law, or a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override a veto.
- The clock resets. Once signed, the CR funds covered agencies only until its own expiration date, at which point the same choice — full-year bill, new CR, or lapse — comes due again.
What Are "Anomalies" in a Continuing Resolution?
Anomalies are provisions written into a CR that let a specific agency's funding rate or spending authority differ from the prior year's level, rather than simply extending the status quo. The Government Accountability Office notes that standard CR restrictions can otherwise block agencies from starting new programs or activities, so Congress uses anomalies to carve out exceptions when a strict funding freeze would cause an operational problem, such as a program set to expire or a new activity that already has legal authorization elsewhere.
What Does a Continuing Resolution Mean for Federal Agencies?
The Government Accountability Office, reviewing agencies including Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Education, found that continuing resolutions caused administrative inefficiencies and reduced management flexibility. Agencies reported slowdowns or halts in hiring and new job offers, reduced access to travel funds and staff training, and uncertainty that complicated grant-making and program planning. Staff time was also diverted toward shutdown contingency planning during periods when funding was set to lapse.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a continuing resolution cut federal spending?
Not automatically. A CR generally holds funding at the prior year's rate rather than raising or cutting it, though the exact formula and any anomalies are set in the bill's text and can vary by agency and program.
Can a continuing resolution fund only part of the government?
Yes. Congress can pass full-year appropriations for some agencies while extending others under a CR, as it did in January 2026 when three full-year bills passed alongside a stopgap covering the remaining agencies, the House Appropriations Committee said.
What happens if no continuing resolution passes by the deadline?
Agencies without enacted appropriations lose the legal authority to spend money on non-essential functions, resulting in a funding lapse commonly called a government shutdown, per the Government Accountability Office. Essential and legally exempted functions generally continue.
How long can a continuing resolution last?
Duration varies by bill. The Government Accountability Office found CRs enacted between fiscal 2010 and 2022 ranged from one day to 176 days, and some years saw multiple short-term CRs before a final deal was reached.
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