In politics, CR stands for Continuing Resolution, which is a temporary funding measure that Congress can use to fund the federal government for a limited amount of time. CRs are often employed to avoid a partial government shutdown and to give lawmakers more time to enact appropriations for the full year. They are temporary spending bills that allow federal government operations to continue when final appropriations have not been made. CRs generally continue the level of funding from the prior year’s appropriations or the previously approved CR from the current year. Full-year CRs provide appropriations for the remainder of the fiscal year and are functionally similar to final appropriations. A CR can include changes from the prior year’s budget that could alter the rate at which funds are utilized, extend an expiring program authority, or provide a specific dollar amount of funding to a program during the CR. Congress passes a CR when they fail to reach an agreement on the spending levels and enact regular appropriations by the start of the federal fiscal year in October. The federal government is currently under a CR for FY 2023 that expires on December 16.