Pursuit's Take
Over the past 40 years, every year but 4, Congress has passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep agencies afloat between budgets. GAO says those CRs “create uncertainty and inefficiency for agencies,” including “delays and rework in contracts, grants, and hiring.” Specifically, GAO identified that a CR prevented the Bureau of Prisons from locking in a cheaper contract resulting in $5.4 million in additional costs. Some agencies had to delay hiring, which affected the agency’s ability to carry out certain tasks, and finally, agency officials say that CRs create extra work, which reduces productivity on more essential work.
In summary, GAO suggests that Congress include certain “legislative anomalies” in CRs that allow agencies to continue functioning as normal, and changing to a multi-year budget authority to alleviate uncertainty with Continuing Resolutions.
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