NORFOLK, Va. — Continuing Resolutions (CR) have become the norm rather than the exception for Congress.
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress has enacted at least one CR in all but three of the past 47 fiscal years.
The GAO said that from 2010 to 2022, lawmakers passed 47 continuing resolutions ranging in duration from one to 176 days.
And now, there's this: when Congress returns from recess on September 9, there will be just 13 legislative days before the end of the fiscal year... with the prospects of passing the remaining seven appropriations bills growing dimmer by the day.
"There's a lack of seriousness. And they're not anywhere close to getting the bills passed," said Rep. Bobby Scott (D, VA-03).
"I think at best we might get one or two done. I think we're going to end up with a CR," said Rep Rob Wittman (R, VA-01).
The problem with CR's is that they freeze all federal spending at the prior year's levels, creating uncertainty and hardship for the private sector which supports government operations, like shipyards that build and repair warships for the Navy.
"If the contractor's ready to go on in the first day of the fiscal year to start the work and they're told, 'Hands off guys, we don't have the funding because we're still in a continuing resolution,' that creates a lot of headaches for those contractors," said Peter Shaw, Tidewater Community College Business Professor Emeritus.