Continuing resolutions — or CRs — let Congress keep funding the government while buying time to negotiate the full appropriations bill for the year.
- They've been used at least once in 42 of the past 45 years, according to data from the Congressional Research Service.
Why it matters: The White House is urging Congress to pass a short-term spending bill by month's end to prevent a government shutdown — and include funds for natural disasters and immigration help for Afghans.
By the numbers: 124 CRs have been enacted since 1998. The pace in recent years generally has been lower than in the late '90s and early 2000s, but the bills on average have provided funding for longer periods of time.
- 2001 was the year with the most enacted short-term spending bills since the late 1970s, but those bills only funded the government for 82 days in total.
- Fiscal years 2007, 2011 and 2013 saw fewer CRs but provided funding for the full year.