"So far this year, U.S. EPA has frozen hiring, delayed contracts and sharply curtailed travel, all to deal with the uncertainty of its future budget."

"It's not only the so-called fiscal cliff -- with its scheduled across-the-board budget cuts -- that has hampered EPA's operations. Instead, it is an action that has become so routine in recent years that all federal agencies have become experts in handling it: the continuing resolution.

And this year, lawmakers seem likely to take it a step further, passing a CR for the entire fiscal year, thanks to fiscal cliff negotiations and a slew of other priorities that have moved the budget to the back burner.

Experts agree that CRs are bad for business and efficiency. They delay projects, paralyze long-term planning -- in government and the private sector -- and create a cycle where federal agencies keep tight purse strings at the beginning of the year only to go on a spending spree toward the end."

Emily Yehle reports for E&E Daily December 18, 2012. [2]