Congress can use short-term federal funding bills, commonly called continuing resolutions, to extend federal funding deadlines and provide more time to complete annual appropriations for a fiscal year.
October 06, 2025
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temporal
Continuing resolutions are a routine legislative tool to keep government operations funded when regular appropriations are not completed on schedule.
A continuing resolution (CR) is a short-term appropriations measure that keeps the federal government open for a set period while congressional negotiators complete longer-term appropriations bills, and CRs often maintain funding roughly at prior fiscal-year levels for that period.
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temporal
Defines the purpose and typical effect of continuing resolutions in the U.S. appropriations process.
SNAP benefit payments rely on federal appropriations, so a lapse in federal funding can lead to insufficient funds to pay scheduled SNAP benefits.
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process
Because SNAP is funded through federal appropriations, interruptions in appropriations can affect states' ability to disburse benefits to recipients on schedule.
Federal appropriations generally cannot be shifted across fiscal years without explicit statutory authorization permitting obligations or transfers across years.
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budgetary
Appropriations availability is typically limited to specified fiscal years unless law provides otherwise.