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What are the automatic contingency measures if a 2025 continuing resolution expires?
Executive Summary
If a 2025 continuing resolution (CR) expires without replacement, the immediate, built‑in outcome is a partial government shutdown in which non‑essential operations cease and many federal employees are furloughed, while a suite of agency‑level contingency plans identifies exceptions to that general rule for essential functions and programs funded by other authorities. Existing contingency documents and contemporaneous reporting show a mix of statutorily required continuations (e.g., certain benefit administration), use of non‑expiring or alternative funds, and targeted emergency disbursements for nutrition programs, but they do not obviate the need for congressional action to fully restore operations [1] [2] [3].
1. Shutdown by default — The direct fallback when a CR lapses
When a CR expires and Congress has not enacted alternative appropriations, the default legal consequence is the loss of authority to obligate annual appropriated funds, producing a government shutdown in which non‑excepted employees are furloughed and non‑essential services stop. Reporting and explanatory material describe this as the basic automatic contingency: a shutdown that halts many agency activities until Congress passes a CR or regular appropriations to restore authority. The analyses emphasize that the only true cure to the lapse is legislative action and that contingency plans merely manage the immediate operational impacts rather than replace funding [1] [4]. This makes clear that while agencies prepare to operate in a lapse, a lapse forces broad disruptions.
2. Who keeps working — Excepted activities and essential staffing
Agency contingency plans systematically identify “excepted” or exempted activities that must continue to protect life and property, maintain essential services, and satisfy statutory obligations; those employees continue working during a lapse, funded by non‑annual appropriations or deemed necessary by law. The IRS, for example, has a formal plan retaining 39,982 employees — about 53.8% of its workforce — to process remittances, maintain systems, and secure property, with pay financed from other sources or justified as statutorily necessary [2]. Similarly, Office of Personnel Management guidance and agency plans specify excepted FTEs financed through non‑expiring resources or necessary legal functions, highlighting that continuity is selective and agency‑specific [5] [6].
3. Programs that continue or get emergency funding — Nutrition, benefits, and legal obligations
Contingency measures sometimes include targeted use of alternate funding streams or administrative orders to preserve critical benefits. Contemporary reporting notes emergency disbursements and preparedness actions for nutrition programs: the USDA has been ordered to disburse partial SNAP benefits, and separate readiness for WIC funding has been reported as a contingency step. These measures reflect that certain programs either have statutory entitlements or access to emergency authorities and can continue temporarily despite a CR lapse, but such continuations are program‑specific and not a universal backstop [3]. Agencies may therefore prioritize legally mandated benefit flows even while broader operations remain constrained.
4. Payroll, health benefits and the human costs — Furloughs, blocked layoffs, and payroll repayment
Contingency plans and reporting together show concrete human impacts: widespread furloughs and temporary unpaid leaves are the principal workforce response, though judicial actions or administrative choices can temporarily block layoffs in some instances. The analyses document ongoing furloughs in some components, courts blocking certain layoffs, and a modest reduction in federal staffing since a recent peak. Agencies also outline that benefits like Federal Employee Health Benefits coverage continue during a lapse but that employees may be required to repay accumulated premiums through future payroll withholding, illustrating how administrative continuity can come with delayed financial consequences for workers [7] [6].
5. Limits of contingency plans — They mitigate, not replace, appropriations
Agency contingency plans and emergency measures provide short‑term mitigation: they identify excepted functions, authorize limited use of non‑annual funds, and prioritize statutorily required activities, yet they cannot substitute for appropriations authority and cannot prevent broad economic and operational disruption without congressional action. Multiple analyses emphasize that contingency actions — even substantial ones like the IRS’s excepted workforce or emergency nutrition disbursements — are stopgap measures. The essential political and legal reality remains that a CR lapse requires Congress to pass new appropriations or a replacement CR to end the shutdown, restore full operations, and fully fund agencies beyond the narrow scope of contingency measures [2] [1] [8].