But first - what is a continuing resolution (also referred to as continuing appropriations) and why do they matter?
Here's a definition from the US Senate website:
continuing resolution/continuing appropriations - Legislation in the form of a joint resolution enacted by Congress, when the new fiscal year is about to begin or has begun, to provide budget authority for Federal agencies and programs to continue in operation until the regular appropriations acts are enacted.It all comes down to the budgetary process in the US, and that fact that the Constitution stipulates that money cannot be drawn from the Treasury unless it has been appropriated by law - the is the Appropriations Clause.
Both the House and Senate have Appropriations Committees that oversee this process.
Aside from that - as we will soon see - there is nothing in the Constitution about a budgetary process. One only began to be established in the early years of 20th Century when efforts were made - driven by progressives - to professionalize the governing process. This includes the establishment of Budget Committees in the House and Senate. They are in charge of determining how Congress wants funding to be directed - sort of - because some funding is mandatory. This is referred to as the authorization process of the budgetary process. We will cover this soon enough.
- Here's the Wikipedia on the US budget process.
But none of this really matters here. What matter is the appropriations process and the fact that we are near the end of the fiscal year. What is that? Again, from the Senate:
fiscal year - The fiscal year is the accounting period for the federal government which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2013 begins on October 1, 2012 and ends on September 30, 2013. Congress passes appropriations legislation to fund the government for every fiscal year.- Click here for a CRS report on the process.
- And here for another CRS report - a bit more thorough.
We are coming up on the end of the 2012-2013 fiscal year. That's what the media really refers to when it says that the US government is about to run out of money. In theory, the new fiscal year 2013-2014 cannot begin, or at least money for that period cannot be drawn from the Treasury, unless appropriations bills are passed. These are to provide funding through the next fiscal year.
As we will see when we discuss the budget, this seldom really happens. Conflicts over spending usually result in these bills not being passed in time. So how does the US government get the money it is required to spend due to existing law?
From the continuing resolutions. These are bills that provide short term funding for government when the appropriations bills are not passed. So what the House passed was such a bill, but with a condition - that funding for Obamacare be terminated - which won't happen of course.
We'll follow this over the next couple of weeks. Since war does not appear to be likely with Syria - this is the most exciting stuff we have going on.
