Do you know how the government keeps running when they haven’t agreed on a budget for the federal fiscal year? For 46 years, except three times, the federal government has relied on continuing resolutions (CRs) to keep things running. The Congress has passed 47 CRs since 2010, lasting three months on average.
This matter holds relevance because of the ongoing debates and discussions surrounding government funding. By exploring the complexities of continuing resolutions, you can gain insights into the potential consequences and better understand their significance in shaping government operations.
How Continuing Resolution Affects Government Operations
A continuing resolution temporarily funds the government without full appropriations bills. Here’s how continuing resolutions affect government operations and three federal agencies—the Departments of Agriculture, Education, and Health and Human Services. All three have programs focused on providing services to citizens with low incomes or in underserved communities.
Continuing Resolution Slows Down the Hiring Process
Continuing resolutions negatively impact the hiring process as they create obstacles for federal agencies to hire new staff and fill vacant positions. Consequently, this compromises their ability to provide full services and long-term planning. Temporary budgets force agencies to sign multiple short-term contracts with contractors, increasing paperwork and additional costs.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has experienced hiring disruptions due to continuing resolution. These disruptions can slow down or halt hiring activities, affecting strategic plans and program services. For example, during a continuing resolution, USDA’s Section 521 Rural Rental Assistance program may be unable to extend new job offers to new candidates.
Nonetheless, agencies can create new positions supported by available funds and hire individuals for those positions, except for positions proposed for elimination in the House or Senate budgets.
Under the continuing resolution, agencies can take certain hiring actions, including:
- Filling vacant positions
- Facilitating lateral transfer or reassignments depending on changes in job grade or classification
- Allowing promotions that result in a change of position number
Conversely, these are prohibited:
- Salary adjustments
- Bonuses
- In-range adjustments
- Reclassifications
Continuing Resolution Limits Travel Funds
During a continuing resolution, access to travel funds becomes restricted, as stated by education officials. This restriction limits staff members from traveling to grantee locations to conduct on-site program monitoring as part of the grant-making process.
Continuing Resolution Limits Flexibility
Education officials experience uncertainty in funding levels, which creates challenges for the agency and its grant recipients. For example, it may have to postpone making decisions related to contracts until there is clarity on final funding. Grant recipients might need to stop certain activities or seek alternative funding until they receive the final funding.
However, in 2013, a continuing resolution provided funding flexibility for weather satellites. Congress passed a spending bill on October 16 that granted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) temporary flexibility to secure the necessary funding to maintain the launch schedules of two weather satellite programs. It was suggested that NOAA should consider incorporating data from Chinese satellites into U.S. weather forecasting models if the U.S. couldn’t launch new polar-orbiting weather satellites in time.
There have also been provisions for flexibility and changes in current laws to prevent irreversible and serious changes to government programs and ensure effective oversight. Examples of these provisions include allowing Customers and Border Protection to maintain staffing levels and providing additional funding and flexibility for the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity efforts.
Continuing Resolution Delays Grant Awards
Education officials said they cannot determine the grant amounts for the PBI formula until the final appropriations are approved. This means a longer continuing resolution could delay the Education’s grant award notices to Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs).
- These notices include information about the award amounts
- Delays in receiving the grant award notices can impact the school’s planning for PBI initiatives.
Based on conversations with PBI recipient schools, it was found that not knowing their final funding amounts on time can affect their planning.
- For example, in the previous fiscal year, Education announced the final PBI formula grant funding amount for the upcoming school year on the last day of the fiscal year.
- Some PBI recipients shared that this late announcement required them to plan how to spend the PBI funds before knowing the final amount.
While an agency may have the necessary tools to award grants promptly under an interim CR and potentially improve timeliness, it can still be challenging to make timely awards when operating under a series of short continuing resolutions. There’s a risk that stakeholders and grant recipients may not be aware that grand awards may not be fully funded until full-year appropriations are enacted. Therefore, it’s important to notify or remind them.
- Agencies have also reported that longer-term interim continuing resolutions caused delays in contracts for nonrecurring projects or have compressed the time available for discretionary grants.
- Some agencies have adjusted their contracts and grant cycles to later in the fiscal year to minimize the additional work required to modify contracts and award grants in multiple installments.
In the case of NIH Institutes and Centers, they may issue non-competing research grant awards at a level lower than indicated in the most recent Notice of Award.
- Any adjustments to award levels will be considered after the fiscal year’s appropriations are approved.
- NIH expects institutions to monitor their expenditures during this period carefully.
Continuing Resolution Causes Administrative Issues
When funding government programs, Congress passes a continuing resolution as a temporary funding plan for all or some of the appropriations bills. CRs can change the amount of money allocated to different areas and even include special adjustments called “anomalies” to address specific problems caused by maintaining the current funding levels.
The Department of Human and Health officials use a formula to determine how much money should be given to different organizations under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). However, because of temporary CRS, they must update the formula at least two times. The first is when the initial CR is passed, and the second is when the final finding amounts are decided.
The administrative burdens don’t stop at paperwork. Other LIHEAP organizations face difficulties signing contracts with other groups, like local community agencies. Planning when to hire and release personal season staff during a CR is also difficult. When they receive money later in the year, they sometimes have to rehire staff members they previously let go to ensure they can use the funds effectively.
Continuing Resolution May Cause a Government Shutdown
A continuing resolution differs from a budget because it only provides temporary funding. If a CR is about to expire without another CR or final appropriation, financial and human resources staff must spend time planning and preparing for a potential government shutdown rather than focusing on their regular responsibilities. In other words, a CR can cause a government shutdown if it’s not passed by Congress and passed into law by the President before the previous CR expires.
How often are continuing resolutions used?
Continuing resolutions are frequently used for funding allocation. Since the fiscal year 1998 until 2023, 131 CRs have been enacted to avoid challenges in determining full-year funding levels. Missing the October 1 deadline for enacting all 12 appropriation bills is not uncommon.
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