Appropriations Process Explained: Continuing Resolutions and Shutdown Risk Terms

What the appropriations process is and why it matters

The appropriations process explained starts with a simple idea: Congress must give federal agencies legal authority to spend money each fiscal year. When Congress does not complete that set of measures, lawmakers commonly use temporary funding steps to keep the government operating.

By law and practice, Congress is expected to enact 12 regular appropriations bills that together fund most federal activity; failing to complete those bills is what leads to continuing resolutions or other stopgap options Congressional Research Service overview of continuing resolutions.

Those 12 bills are distinct from authorization measures that create or set policy for programs. Appropriations provide budget authority that agencies use to obligate and spend funds during the fiscal year.

Both the House and the Senate have appropriations committees that draft and mark up bills, and each chamber follows its own calendar and rules before bills go to the floor for votes. These committee calendars and roll-call votes are key signals to track whether regular bills are moving on schedule House Committee on Appropriations primer on how appropriations work.

How appropriations bills are supposed to work step by step

Start at the subcommittee level: subcommittees draft spending bills for specific areas of government, hold hearings, and prepare a markup. The full appropriations committee then reviews and votes on each bill before it reaches the chamber floor.

After chamber passage, differences between House and Senate versions are typically resolved in a conference process that produces a single bill for both chambers to approve. Once both chambers adopt the final text, the president can sign the bill into law or veto it.

Ideally, the 12 separate bills are enacted before the fiscal year begins on October 1. In practice, Congress sometimes bundles measures into omnibus bills or combines multiple extensions into a single package to expedite enactment Senate Committee on Appropriations explanation of process.

When a bill is enacted, agencies receive budget authority and then work with the Office of Management and Budget and their own finance offices to apportion funds across the fiscal year. Apportionment is the step that turns annual budget authority into quarterly or program-level spending plans.

Continuing resolutions explained: what CRs are and how they vary

A continuing resolution, commonly called a CR, is a temporary funding measure that typically extends prior-year funding levels or specified amounts so federal operations can continue while Congress finishes regular bills. CRs can be brief stopgaps, full-year extensions, or structured to bundle multiple authorities and timelines Congressional Research Service overview of continuing resolutions.

CRs differ in length and detail. A short-term CR might extend funding for days or weeks to give more time for negotiation. A full-year CR maintains funding for the entire fiscal year. Lawmakers can also add policy riders or program-specific language to a CR, which may alter how particular programs operate during the extension.

One recent example of a consolidated approach is the FY2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, enacted in March 2025; that measure packaged multiple extensions into a single bill and illustrates how Congress sometimes uses a single enacted measure to carry authorities forward for the fiscal year H.R.1968 full-year continuing appropriations and extensions act. See the Senate committee section-by-section document for related continuing-appropriations language.

Because CRs usually rely on prior-year levels, they tend to preserve existing program funding but do not typically authorize new, permanent spending increases. That makes CRs useful for continuity but limited for policy changes.

Agency operations during a lapse: OMB apportionment, excepted activities, and furloughs

If Congress does not enact appropriations or an extension, agencies face a lapse in appropriations. The Office of Management and Budget issues guidance that directs agencies on which activities are excepted, how apportionments operate, and how to implement furloughs or emergency operations OMB information for agencies including Circular A-11 guidance and related apportionment bulletins (OMB apportionment bulletin).

In practice, OMB guidance and agency legal counsel determine which functions are “excepted” because they involve imminent threats to human life or property, or because they are funded by other authorities. Employees in excepted roles generally continue working during a lapse, while others may be furloughed until funding resumes.

Apportionment affects how remaining funds are distributed across the fiscal year and can limit spending categories or timing. Agencies publish notices or press statements that explain which services continue and which are temporarily suspended, so those agency-level messages are important for the public to follow.

Costs and disruptions: what GAO and CRS find about funding lapses

GAO and CRS analyses document operational disruptions and measurable costs when appropriations lapse, but they also show that the scale and distribution of those costs vary by the length of the lapse and the agencies involved GAO analysis of federal government shutdown effects and CRS products such as R48599.

Typical operational disruptions include suspended grant processing, delayed inspections or permitting actions, interruptions to public services that rely on appropriations, and workforce impacts from furloughs. Many of these effects are measurable but differ across programs and timeframes.

Because methodologies differ, single cost estimates should be treated cautiously; CRS and GAO reports provide the best available, agency-level detail readers can use to compare past events and likely impacts.

Decision points and signals: what to watch and how to read them

To assess whether Congress is moving toward regular bills or a CR, watch committee calendars for timely subcommittee and full committee markups, and track floor schedules in both chambers. Changes to those calendars are often the earliest signals of delay or acceleration.

Roll-call votes on individual spending bills, the appearance of CR text in committee reports, and whether leaders discuss omnibus packaging or single-vote full-year measures are all practical signs to monitor. Bill text circulation and amendment patterns can indicate whether negotiations are narrowing or widening.

Primary sources for authoritative updates include Congress.gov bill pages, House and Senate appropriations committee sites, and OMB guidance for agencies; these pages post calendars, roll-call results, and official memos that clarify status and timelines Congress.gov bill page for specific measures.

Common mistakes and misunderstandings to avoid

Myth: a continuing resolution is a permanent policy victory. Fact: a CR typically maintains prior-year funding levels and does not itself create new, permanent authorities or major policy changes CRS overview of continuing resolutions.

Myth: all services stop during a lapse. Fact: OMB guidance determines which activities are excepted and many essential functions continue, though others may be paused or slowed.

Myth: appropriations and authorizations are the same. Fact: appropriations provide the money to run programs, while authorization bills create or set parameters for those programs; both matter but play different roles in law and budgeting CRS primers and committee explanations.

Practical scenarios: three plain-language examples and what they mean for services

Scenario A – short stopgap CR: Congress passes a brief CR that extends prior-year funding for a few weeks. Agencies generally continue ongoing programs with minimal disruption while staff focus on planning for either a longer extension or final bills. For readers, this typically means routine services continue but hiring or major new contracts may be delayed. Check upcoming events that discuss appropriations and impacts on the events page.

Scenario B – consolidated full-year CR like FY2025 H.R.1968: In this model, Congress packages multiple extensions into a single enacted measure that carries funding and authorities for the fiscal year. That approach can reduce the need for repeated short stopgaps and offers more predictability for agencies and recipients H.R.1968 on Congress.gov.

What readers can do next and where to get authoritative updates

Follow primary sources: Congress.gov bill pages for text and status, House and Senate appropriations committee calendars for markup schedules, and OMB agency guidance for operational implications. Those documents provide the authoritative record rather than commentary. For curated updates, see the news page on this site.

Watch for the concrete signals discussed earlier: timely subcommittee markups, floor votes, conference activity, and whether leaders are negotiating omnibus or full-year packages. Roll-call votes and official memos often change before public reporting catches up.

As you track developments, remember that a continuing resolution is a temporary funding tool, and that OMB and agencies decide which services continue during a lapse. For real-time agency impacts, check agency notices and OMB memos linked on their official pages, or learn more about the author on the about page.