TPA Slams Continuing Resolution as Another Congressional Punt on Spending

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Senate lawmakers released the text of a continuing resolution (CR) extending funding for federal programs and services through December 11, 2026. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) criticized the CR, which is designed to narrowly avoid a government shutdown at the end of September—while setting the stage for a fiscal showdown ahead of the holiday season.

In response to the release of the CR, Ross Marchand, Executive Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following statement:

“Governing through continuing resolutions has become an unacceptable habit in Washington, D.C. Lawmakers would rather kick the can down the road for a few months than address a nearly $40 trillion national debt. Government by stopgap funding is not only lazy and prevents wide-ranging fiscal reforms; it destroys the public’s trust in government. Taxpayers cannot afford a perpetual cycle of deadline brinkmanship where Congress refuses to confront federal spending head-on.

“Lawmakers need to do their jobs by returning to regular order, passing appropriations bills, and putting the threat of costly shutdowns in the rearview mirror. Short-term measures fail to make the structural reforms necessary to manage federal spending responsibly. True fiscal stewardship requires Congress to exercise its constitutional responsibility by thoroughly debating, prioritizing, and enacting full-year appropriations bills rather than continually relying on temporary extensions.

“Despite the drawbacks of passing another CR, lawmakers deserve praise for including a crucial provision that temporarily blocks the Office of Management and Budget’s grant-making rule. This proposed administrative rule threatens to shift a significant amount of spending power away from Congress and into the hands of unelected executive branch bureaucrats, unacceptably undermining the legislative power of the purse. Congress should pass this as a standalone measure, not tether it to an irresponsible and short-sighted CR.”

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The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s impact on the economy.