Last week the House and Senate Passed, and the President signed the eighth continuing resolution (CR) of the FY 2003 budget season. This CR will keep the federal government and the programs it funds going through January 31, 2003. Without the CR, there would be no funding for these programs and the government would be forced to shut down – an option no one wanted to serve as the opening to the 108th Congress last week. As discussed in previous issues of the Watcher, there are many problems for agencies trying to operate under a stream of CR’s, which only continue last year’s funding levels, with no increase for inflation. There is hope that this will be the last CR necessary for FY 2003, as many in Congress want to complete work on the remaining 11 appropriations bills by combining them into an omnibus appropriations bill – to allow them to move on to the FY 2004 budget.

The House and Senate passed their third Continuing Resolution (CR) last Thursday, providing funding to keep the government operating through October 18. Passage of H.J. Res. 122 was required to prevent a government shutdown since none of the 13 annual appropriations necessary for federal programs to continue to operate has yet been enacted. It is anticipated that the Defense and Military Construction appropriations bills will be passed before a longer term CR is enacted.