Continuing Resolutions

Both chambers of Congress used this last week to do official travel or attend party events or do committee work since there were no votes scheduled or taken. However, everyone will be back in Washington D.C. early next week just a few days before the first of the current continuing resolutions expire. So, passing new continuing resolutions and keeping the government operating is presumably going to be top priority. But, what's the deal with continuing resolutions?

Happily, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) is here to help us understand!

What are continuing resolutions?

Short version: a resolution that says agencies should keep spending at the last appropriations level since new appropriations haven't been passed. A much more complete answer from CRS: Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Practices

Why does Congress keep having to do them?

Because Congress has yet to pass any of the standard appropriations bills. This is not unusual. CRS has a handy table of the status of appropriations bills since 1999. You'll see that CRs are common, although in each case the reasons why they're needed vary.

Is this a good way to run the government?

No. The only thing more expensive in the long run than CRs are government shutdowns. There are a few reasons for this: both CRs and shutdowns generate significant additional administrative work that wouldn't otherwise be needed and they hold the agencies in stasis. They can't make hiring decisions or start new projects even if those options would ultimately save the agencies money. An expert from CRS testified on the topic to Congress a few years ago: Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Ways of Funding Government: Exploring the Cost to Taxpayers of Spending Uncertainty Caused by Governing Through Continuing Resolutions, Giant Omnibus Spending Bills, and Shutdown Crises. However, it can be a good way of making political points and Congress members are politicians. Most of the appropriations bills are in limbo because of non-appropriations provisions that will not pass the Senate and would be vetoed by the President, but which are strongly supported by small segments of the House Republicans. That puts the House Speaker in the position of either not passing them at all or removing those provisions and angering his own membership.

What is the next round of continuing resolutions likely to look like?

Given the deadline of next Friday, 3/1, for one set of the CRs, the next set will probably look a lot like the last ones: H.R. 2872: Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024. As you'll see in the text, it's just replacing the prior end date of the last sets of CRs with new ones - either 3/1 or 3/8 along with a few other adjustments to make sure everything works out.

Could they pass just, you know, regular ol' appropriations?

In theory? Sure. In actuality, hard to say. Roll Call reports that maybe a few of the standard appropriations bills might be ready for votes as soon as the House returns on Wednesday, but the current consensus seems to be that another round of short term CRs will be necessary.