None of the FY2017 regular appropriations bills was enacted prior to the enactment of the first CR for FY2017 ( H.R. 5325 ). As enacted, Division C of that measure provides continuing appropriations for projects and activities covered by 11 of the 12 regular appropriations bills for the period covering the beginning of the fiscal year, October 1, 2016, through December 9, 2016. H.R. The purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of the additional provisions in Division A concerning continuing appropriations added to those from Division C of P.L. For general information on the content of CRs and historical data on CRs enacted between FY1977 and FY2016, see CRS Report R42647, Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Recent Practices , by James V. Saturno and Jessica Tollestrup. Coverage

Division A provides further continuing budget authority for projects and activities funded in the first continuing appropriations measure for FY2017. 114-113 ), with some exceptions. Duration

Section 101 provides that funding in the CR is effective through April 28, 2017—a period extending funding for FY2017 for an additional 20 weeks. Rate

The CR provides budget authority for projects and activities funded in the 11 FY2016 appropriations acts covered by the CR at a rate based on the amount of funding provided in those acts for the duration of the CR (through April 28). FY2017

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the budgetary effects of interim CRs on an "annualized" basis, meaning that the effects are measured as if the CR were providing budget authority for the remainder of the fiscal year. According to CBO, when the funding provided in Division A of P.L. 114-223 (the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act) is added to the annualized amount for the 11 appropriations acts covered by continuing appropriations provisions, the total amount of annualized discretionary budget authority for regular appropriations subject to the BCA limits (including projects and activities funded at the rate for operations and anomalies) is $1,069.599 billion, approximately the amount of the combined statutory discretionary spending limits for FY2017. Agency-, Account-, and Program-Specific Provisions

In addition to the general provisions that establish the coverage, duration, and rate, CRs typically include provisions that are specific to certain agencies, accounts, or programs. First, certain provisions designate exceptions to the formula and purpose for which any referenced funding is extended. These are often referred to as "anomalies." Second, certain provisions may have the effect of creating new law or changing existing law. Most typically, these provisions are used to renew expiring provisions of law or extend the scope of certain existing statutory requirements to the funds provided in the CR. In some cases they include additional information, such as whether a provision was requested by the President or included in prior year CRs.
This report is an analysis of the provisions in H.R. 2028, which provides further continuing appropriations for FY2017 through April 28, 2017. The measure also included appropriations for the remainder of the fiscal year for Overseas Contingency Operations in the Security Assistance Appropriations Act (Division B). On December 10, 2016, the President signed H.R. 2028 into law (P.L. 114-254).
Division A of H.R. 2028 was termed a "continuing resolution" (CR) because it provided temporary authority for federal agencies and programs to continue spending in FY2017 in the same manner as a separately enacted CR. It provides temporary funding for the programs and activities covered by the remaining 11 regular appropriations bills that had not been enacted previously. These provisions provide continuing budget authority for projects and activities funded in FY2016 by that fiscal year's regular appropriations acts, with some exceptions. Funding under the terms of the CR is effective from enactment on December 10, 2016, through April 28, 2017—a period of 20 weeks.
The CR generally provides budget authority for FY2017 for projects and activities at the rate at which they were funded during FY2016. Most projects and activities funded by the CR, however, are also subject to an across-the-board decrease of 0.1901% for the period covered (pursuant to Section 101(2) of Division A).
According to the cost estimate prepared by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the total amount annualized budget authority for the 11 regular appropriations covered in Division A that are subject to the statutory discretionary spending limits totals to approximately $987,273 million. When spending in the act that is effectively not subject to those limits (Overseas Contingency Operations, disaster relief, emergency requirements and program integrity adjustments) is included in the CBO estimate, the annualized total is $1,083,798 million.
In addition to the general provisions that establish the coverage, duration, and rate of spending, CRs usually include provisions that are specific to certain agencies, accounts, or programs. These include provisions that designate exceptions to the formula and purpose for which any referenced funding is extended (referred to as "anomalies") as well as provisions that have the effect of creating new law or changing existing law (often used to renew expiring provisions of law). The CR includes a number of such provisions, each of which is briefly summarized in this report. CRS appropriations process experts for each of these provisions are listed in Table 1.
For information on the first CR for FY2017, see CRS Report R44653, Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2017 (H.R. 5325), coordinated by James V. Saturno. For general information on the content of CRs and historical data on CRs enacted between FY1977 and FY2016, see CRS Report R42647, Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Recent Practices, by James V. Saturno and Jessica Tollestrup.