08/21/2025

House Conservatives Push for Year-long Continuing Resolution

Currently, government funding expires on Sept. 30

With government funding expiring on Sept. 30 and a potential government shutdown fast approaching, some House conservatives are preparing to support a year-long, stopgap spending bill, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), according to reporting from Bloomberg Government.

The package is likely to include earmarks, which could sweeten the deal for lawmakers who often view a continuing resolution with reluctance. Earmarks, or specific spending provisions for a lawmaker's home district or state, are often viewed with skepticism by fiscal conservatives but can be a powerful tool for building consensus.

However, this outcome is not yet a done deal.

• Full-year stopgaps are rare, as they give the White House immense discretion over funding decisions that lawmakers typically would prefer to keep to themselves.
• Appropriators would prefer a short-term funding patch to buy time to pass a larger package before end of the calendar year.

Why it Matters:

• Republican hardliners believe that a full-year CR would be more fiscally conservative than a bill that they must negotiate with the Democrats.
• While more fiscally conservative, a full-year CR deal could include as much as $4.8 billion in earmarks.
• Full-year stop gaps typically limit federal agency decision making and long-term planning.

An added element to negotiations is the threat of a “pocket rescission” by the White House, a controversial tactic to stop federal spending without the consent of Congress.

• As highlighted by Politico, a pocket rescission is a controversial tactic where the president withholds funds that Congress has appropriated, effectively stopping spending without a formal vote or approval from Congress.

Lawmakers anticipate that President Donald Trump will send a formal rescission request in September.

This article was provided to OSAP by ASAE's Power of Associations and Inroads.