The short version
- A CR extends existing funding levels past the start of the fiscal year.
- It is an ordinary law: both chambers, then a signature.
- It postpones the disagreement about levels rather than settling it.
- Only discretionary programs depend on it.
The deadline
The federal fiscal year begins on 1 October. On that date, budget authority from the previous year’s appropriations acts lapses. If new acts have not been enacted, affected agencies must suspend the activities that depend on that authority.
The instrument
A continuing resolution provides temporary authority, usually at the prior year’s levels, for a fixed period. It is a full law — passed by both chambers, signed by the president — not a procedural device.
What it covers
Only discretionary spending. Mandatory programs continue regardless, because their authority comes from permanent law. This is why a lapse looks like closed agencies and furloughed staff rather than suspended benefit payments.
The distinction is worth holding onto during shutdown coverage, which frequently implies the whole government has stopped.
What it leaves open
A CR does not resolve the disagreement that prevented the appropriations acts from passing. It moves the deadline. When the new expiry approaches, the same disagreement is still there, which is how a year can accumulate several of them in sequence.
Longer CRs carry a second cost that gets less attention: agencies operating at last year’s levels cannot start new programs or adjust to changed circumstances, regardless of what either party intended.
Sources
- 1.Congressional Research Service, Introduction to the Federal Budget Process. Retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
- 2.Congressional Research Service, The Appropriations Process. Retrieved Sep 1, 2026.
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