Continuing Resolutions: Latest Action and Brief Overview of Recent Practices

Sandy Streeter
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process

Most routine operations of federal departments and agencies are funded each year through the enactment of several regular appropriations acts. Because these bills are annual, expiring at the end of the fiscal year (September 30), regular appropriations bills for the subsequent fiscal year must be enacted by October 1. Final action on most regular appropriations bills, however, is frequently delayed beyond the start of the fiscal year. When this occurs, the affected departments and agencies are generally funded under temporary continuing appropriations acts until the final funding decisions become law. Because continuing appropriations acts are generally enacted in the form of joint resolutions, such acts are referred to as continuing resolutions (or CRs). 

CRs may be divided into two categories based on duration—those that provide interim (or temporary) funding and those that provide funds through the end of the fiscal year. Interim continuing resolutions provide funding until a specific date or until the enactment of the applicable regular appropriations acts, if earlier. Full-year continuing resolutions provide funding in lieu of one or more regular appropriations bills through the end of the fiscal year. 

Over the past 35 years, the nature, scope, and duration of continuing resolutions gradually expanded. From the early 1970s through 1987, CRs gradually expanded from being used to provide interim funding measures of comparatively brief duration and length to measures providing funding through the end of the fiscal year. The full-year measures included, in some cases, the full text of one or more regular appropriations bills and contained substantive legislation (i.e., provisions under the jurisdiction of committees other than the House and Senate Appropriations Committees). Since 1988, continuing resolutions have primarily been interim funding measures, and included major legislation less frequently. 

In certain years, delay in the enactment of regular appropriations measures and CRs has led to periods during which appropriations authority has lapsed. Such periods generally are referred to as funding gaps. 

Because Congress and the President did not complete action on all 12 FY2010 regular appropriations bills until over two and half months after the deadline, two FY2010 continuing resolutions were enacted. The first, Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2010, extended funding at generally FY2009 spending levels for 11 outstanding regular bills through October 31, 2009. It was included as Division B in the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2010. The President signed the measure on October 1, 2009 (P.L. 111-68; 123 Stat. 2023, 2043). By the end of October, five FY2010 regular bills had become law. Therefore, the President signed a second CR, Further Continuing Appropriations, 2010, on October 30, 2009, which generally continued funding levels provided in the initial CR for the outstanding bills through December 18, 2009 (see Division B, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010; P.L. 111-88; 123 Stat. 2904, 2972). 

On December 19, 2009, Congress completed action on a third CR, H.J.Res. 64 (111th Congress), a standalone measure, which would have extended funding through December 23, 2009. But, this measure was rendered moot when the President signed the final FY2010 regular appropriations bill, Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-118; 123 Stat. 3409). On December 30, 2009, President Obama vetoed H.J.Res. 64 while Congress was not in session; such a veto is often referred to as a "pocket veto." In addition, the President returned H.J.Res. 64 to the House of Representatives pursuant to the so-called "protective return" procedure.


Date of Report: May 13, 2010
Number of Pages: 16
Order Number: RL30343
Price: $29.95

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