Avoid Government Shutdowns and Still Restrain Spending

After President Donald Trump in March signed the massive $1.3 trillion spending bill for 2018, he warned Congress: “I will never sign another bill like this again.”

He shouldn’t have to. But unless something is done to stop Washington’s annual game of budgetary chicken, he may not have much of a choice.

Every year it’s the same story. Congress passes almost none of its twelve routine spending bills by the start of the new fiscal year. Facing the pressure of a government shutdown, it instead passes what is known as a continuing resolution (CR), which funds the government at the previous year’s level.

A CR is a stopgap measure. It keeps the federal government’s lights on and buys Congress time to cobble together a one-year spending bill.

To avoid a looming (or actual) government shutdown, this one huge spending bill usually features the worst aspects of what the two parties want. That bill then gets sent to the president, who has to sign it — or take the blame for a shutdown.