What is continuing resolution

Q: Yikes. Did Congress pass a Continuing Resolution this time? Q: So what's in it? The U. The CR authorizes the U. However, this effort will not involve American troops in Syria. EBOLA : The President is devoting significant resources to help combat the Ebola epidemic in West Africa with the goals of controlling the outbreak, addressing its destabilizing effects on local communities, coordinating a global response, and building up a public health system in the affected countries so they can better meet a situation like this in the future.

Q: But this is not a budget for the whole year? Q: Does the President have a say in what goes into the federal budget? Follow blog They can last a few hours, or a few months, or a full year—however long Congress needs in order to reach agreement on appropriations for the rest of the year.

But how do we get to that point? The problem is, this rarely happens nowadays. Yes, 20 years ago! Not really. But like almost every household, organization, or business, your government functions best when it can plan for the long term.

Federal agencies generally try to budget several years in advance. This helps ensure, among other things, that agencies can negotiate better deals when they enter into contracts. An ill-timed CR can make these best-laid plans go awry.

This could mean making harder decisions about the future of its inventory or making cuts to reduce readiness or end strength. Featured Video. Will the Air Force's EW gear fit in a smaller plane? Actionable Intelligence. How the Army wants to use artificial intelligence to hit targets MilTech. However, over the past ten years, appropriations have accounted for a third of total spending and support programs that touch nearly every aspect of our daily lives as well as various facets of the economy — including national defense, operating national parks, law and immigration enforcement, health care research, and a host of other activities.

All of those activities are funded through the 12 regular appropriation bills that are supposed to be enacted into law each year by the Congress and President. Under regular budget order , lawmakers would enact all of those full-year appropriation bills before October 1.

Missing the October 1 deadline to enact all 12 appropriation bills is not unusual; in fact, that deadline has not been fully met since fiscal year Instead, lawmakers have come to rely heavily on CRs — temporary, imperfect solutions that avoid the difficult but necessary work of allocating funding. Lawmakers often enact multiple CRs in a single fiscal year before deciding on full-year funding levels.