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Appropriations and continuing resolutions are the two primary mechanisms through which Congress funds the federal government. Appropriations provide planned annual funding for agencies and programs. Continuing resolutions serve as temporary measures when the regular appropriations process is not completed on time.
What is the Appropriations Process?
Program activities of most agencies are generally funded on an annual basis through the enactment of regular appropriation acts. Appropriations is the third step in the Federal Budget Process and determines exactly how much money each federal program receives. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees divide the work among 12 subcommittees, each responsible for a different area of government spending, such as defense, agriculture, or transportation. These subcommittees draft individual appropriations bills that set precise funding levels for discretionary programs, which Congress can pass separately or combine into a single omnibus spending bill. The appropriations process has a deadline of October 1, marking the end of the fiscal year.
What is a Continuing Resolution?
One or more Continuing Appropriations Acts, or commonly referred to as Continuing Resolutions (CR), are enacted to provide TEMPORARY funding to continue certain programs and activities until the regular appropriations acts are completed.
When is a Continuing Resolution Used by Congress?
If Congress fails to pass Appropriations bills by the October 1 deadline → it must pass a continuing resolution (CR), a temporary funding measure that keeps the government running at current levels.
Without either appropriations bills or a CR signed by the president, the government shuts down. During a shutdown, some government services pause, and federal workers may be furloughed without pay until funding is restored.
- On October 1, 2025, the longest government shutdown began because Congress failed to pass an Appropriations bill, which lasted 43 days.
- On November 12, 2025, Congress passed the Continuing Appropriations, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veteran Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, that ended the government shutdown.
- Six Main Features of Continuing Resolutions:
- CRs provide funding for certain activities (coverage), typically specified with reference to the prior fiscal year’s appropriations acts.
- CRs provide budget authority for a specified duration of time (spanning a single day or the rest of the fiscal year)
- CRs typically provide funds based on an overall funding rate rather than a specified amount
- The use of budget authority provided in the CR has been prohibited for new activities not funded in the previous fiscal year
- The duration and amount of funds in the CR, and for which they may be used for specified activities, may be adjusted through anomalies.
- Legislative provisions– which create, amend, or extend other laws– have been included in some instances
Definitions
Omnibus: a single legislative package that combines multiple smaller bills into one massive bill, requiring only one vote in each house of Congress.
Anomalies: provisions that provide exceptions to the duration, amount, or purposes for which those funds may be used for certain appropriations accounts or activities. Anomalies serve to protect Congress’s constitutional authority to determine the manner of appropriations, even when providing only short-term funding.
Legislative provisions: provisions in the CR that have the effect of creating new law or changing existing law. Varies in length, ranging from a short paragraph to more than 200 pages.
Sources:
- Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Practices | Congress.gov
- House Republicans Restore Order: Congress Passes Clean Funding Extension and Full-Year Appropriations Bills to Reopen Government
- H.R.5371 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress