Congress passed a short-term funding bill in recent weeks that kept federal agencies open as the government's new fiscal year began on October 1, averting what had been a live possibility of a shutdown in October.
The stopgap measure, known in Washington as a continuing resolution, extends existing funding levels for federal agencies rather than setting new budgets, buying lawmakers additional time to negotiate full-year spending bills. These short-term extensions have become a routine, if imperfect, tool in recent years for avoiding lapses in federal funding when House and Senate negotiators have not finished the twelve individual appropriations bills that are supposed to fund the government each year.
A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass funding legislation and the president signs it into law before existing funding expires. During a shutdown, agencies must furlough non-essential employees and pause many routine functions, while essential services, including air traffic control, law enforcement, and benefit payments in most cases, continue. Shutdowns have occurred periodically over the past decade and have, at times, lasted for weeks when negotiations stalled.
This year's funding fight has unfolded against a backdrop of continued disagreement in Washington over overall spending levels and priorities, which has made each funding deadline a source of uncertainty for federal workers, contractors, and agencies that rely on predictable budgets to plan their work. Passing a stopgap does not resolve those underlying disagreements, it simply postpones the deadline by which they need to be resolved.
For now, the practical effect is that federal agencies continue operating normally, and federal employees and contractors have avoided the disruption of furloughs or delayed paychecks that a lapse in funding would have caused.
Lawmakers will need to reach agreement on longer-term spending legislation before the stopgap's funding runs out, or pass another short-term extension to avoid a renewed shutdown threat.
What is a continuing resolution?
It is short-term legislation that extends existing government funding levels so agencies can keep operating while lawmakers negotiate full-year spending bills.
Does this solve Washington's budget disagreements?
No, a stopgap only postpones the funding deadline. It does not resolve the underlying disagreements over spending levels and priorities.