{ "id": "R42647", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R42647", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 606846, "date": "2019-04-19", "retrieved": "2019-10-29T22:20:41.112373", "title": "Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Practices", "summary": "The program activities of most federal agencies are generally funded on an annual basis through the enactment of regular appropriations acts. When those annual appropriations acts are not enacted by the beginning of the fiscal year (i.e., by October 1), one or more continuing appropriations acts (commonly known as continuing resolutions or CRs) may be enacted to provide temporary funding to continue certain programs and activities until action on the regular appropriations acts is completed. \nCongress has included six main components in CRs. First, CRs have provided funding for certain activities (coverage), which are typically specified with reference to the prior fiscal year\u2019s appropriations acts. Second, CRs have provided budget authority for a specified duration of time. This duration may be as short as a single day or as long as the remainder of the fiscal year. Third, CRs have provided funds based on an overall funding rate. Fourth, the use of budget authority provided in the CR has been prohibited for new activities not funded in the previous fiscal year. Fifth, the duration and amount of funds in the CR, and purposes for which they may be used for specified activities, may be adjusted through anomalies. Sixth, legislative provisions\u2014which create, amend, or extend other laws\u2014have been included in some instances.\nThis report provides detailed information on CRs beginning with FY1977, which was the first fiscal year that began on October 1. Congress has enacted one or more CRs in all but three of the last 43 fiscal years (FY1977-FY2019). In addition, in 10 of the last 18 fiscal years, the initial CR\u2014and in some years subsequent CRs\u2014provided continuing appropriations for all the regular appropriations acts. \nAfter FY1997\u2014the most recent fiscal year that all regular appropriations bills were enacted before the start of the new fiscal year\u2014an average of at least five CRs were signed into law for each fiscal year before the appropriations process was completed for that year. During this period, CRs provided funding for an average of almost five months each fiscal year.\nFor some fiscal years, a CR has provided continuing appropriations (i.e., at a rate of operations) through the end of that year (often referred to as a full-year CR). Most recently, a full-year CR was enacted for most of the regular appropriations acts for FY2007, FY2011, and FY2013. In the 1980s, in contrast, some \u201cfull-year CRs\u201d actually included the full text of certain regular appropriations acts (i.e., in the form of an omnibus appropriations act rather than a typical CR).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42647", "sha1": "2b3b30c346de5632d9f61122a14a1c8049692c18", "filename": "files/20190419_R42647_2b3b30c346de5632d9f61122a14a1c8049692c18.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R42647_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190419_R42647_images_2f46bd4d85d3f6b366417bb7de82252aa7646ffc.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42647", "sha1": "b6b7a3bea42e9d9b3b15f3afd592144a473cf371", "filename": "files/20190419_R42647_b6b7a3bea42e9d9b3b15f3afd592144a473cf371.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4900, "name": "Budget & Appropriations Procedure" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 448782, "date": "2016-01-14", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:29:48.277671", "title": "Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Recent Practices", "summary": "Congress uses an annual appropriations process to fund the routine activities of most federal agencies. This process anticipates the completion of 12 regular appropriations bills to fund these activities before the beginning of the fiscal year. Over the past half century, the timing of congressional action on regular appropriations bills has varied considerably, but enactment after the start of the fiscal year has been a recurring issue. Until regular appropriations for a fiscal year are enacted, one or more continuing appropriations acts (commonly known as continuing resolutions or CRs) can be used to provide funding for a specified period of time.\nUnder recent congressional practice, CRs typically include as many as six main components. First, CRs provide funding for certain activities, which are typically specified with reference to the prior fiscal year\u2019s appropriations acts. This is referred to in this report as the CR\u2019s coverage. Second, CRs provide budget authority for a specified duration of time. This duration may be as short as a single day or as long as the remainder of the fiscal year. Third, CRs typically provide funds based on an overall funding rate. Fourth, the use of budget authority provided in the CR is typically prohibited for new activities not funded in the previous fiscal year. Fifth, the duration and amount of funds in the CR, and purposes for which they may be used for specified activities, may be adjusted through anomalies. Sixth, legislative provisions\u2014which create, amend, or extend other laws\u2014have been included in some instances.\nBetween FY1977 and FY2016 (excluding the four fiscal years in which all appropriations were enacted on time), over half of the regular appropriations bills for a fiscal year were enacted on time in only one instance (FY1978). In all other fiscal years, fewer than six regular appropriations acts were enacted on or before October 1. In addition, in 14 out of the 40 years during this period, none of these regular appropriations bills were enacted prior to the start of the fiscal year. Nine of these fiscal years have occurred in the interval since FY2001. For further information, see Table 1.\nIn the interval since FY1997\u2014the most recent fiscal year that all regular appropriations bills were completed on time\u2014CRs have been enacted on average almost six times per fiscal year. During this period, CRs provided funding for an average of almost five months each fiscal year. For further information, see Table 2 and Figure 1.\nCongress has employed full-year CRs on a number of occasions. For each of the 11 fiscal years covering FY1978-FY1988, Congress enacted a full-year CR covering at least one regular appropriations act. Three years later, Congress enacted another full-year CR for FY1992. Most recently, full-year CRs were enacted for FY2007, FY2011, and FY2013. The budget authority in these full-year CRs was also provided in different forms. The 10 full-year CRs for FY1980 through FY1984, FY1992, FY2007, FY2011, and FY2013 included formulaic provisions that provided funding for at least one of the covered appropriations acts. The full-year CRs for FY1985 through FY1988, by contrast, did not use formulaic provisions but instead specified amounts for each account. For further information, see Table 3.\nFor a list of all continuing resolutions enacted since FY1977, see Table 4 at the end of this report.\nThis report will be updated after the annual appropriations process for a fiscal year has concluded.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R42647", "sha1": "73be8706eda9dfa8898d4fe652ec83822e41877a", "filename": "files/20160114_R42647_73be8706eda9dfa8898d4fe652ec83822e41877a.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R42647", "sha1": "5974c98a770a0675a6a1702c7a0f89d9549dd609", "filename": "files/20160114_R42647_5974c98a770a0675a6a1702c7a0f89d9549dd609.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 615, "name": "Appropriations Jurisdictions and Processes" }, { "source": "CongOpsList", "id": 4149, "name": "Appropriations Process" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc811783/", "id": "R42647_2015Jul16", "date": "2015-07-16", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Recent Practices", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150716_R42647_7351202da5e2ea6b87dc3f385400835f835ad016.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150716_R42647_7351202da5e2ea6b87dc3f385400835f835ad016.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810999/", "id": "R42647_2012Aug06", "date": "2012-08-06", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Recent Practices", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120806_R42647_d9dad7337f1187fc46dc080655d34781e302d854.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120806_R42647_d9dad7337f1187fc46dc080655d34781e302d854.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Domestic Social Policy", "Legislative Process" ] }