Fiscal year 2026 has been marked with unprecedented brinkmanship over government funding.
Since the fiscal year began on October 1, at least some federal agencies have operated without regular appropriations for 161 days. This means parts of the government have been in shutdown status for 44% of the full year.
Full year funding was not completed until June 10, with passage of S. 2, the Secure America Act. The law provided three years of funding for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agencies.
The next government funding deadline is September 30, less than two and a half months away. Congress must enact another funding measure before then to prevent a pre-election shutdown.
However, the House is scheduled to be in session for only 19 legislative days before the September 30 deadline, due to the 5-week August district work period, Labor Day, and the Jewish holidays in September.
House to Consider CR to Prevent Another Shutdown
To head off another potential shutdown, the House is scheduled to take up the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027.
A continuing resolution (CR) temporarily provides funding when Congress has not enacted regular appropriations.
The CR would continue all 12 of the regular enacted FY 2026 appropriations laws through December 4, at the current funding levels and existing terms and conditions. By contrast, these existing terms and conditions would not be preserved if Republicans in Congress attempted to extend government funding via the reconciliation process.
Importantly, this proposal is a “clean” CR with a limited number of anomalies. These provisions would continue Food Stamp payments, extend Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and give the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flexibility to apportion Disaster Relief Fund resources as needed for response and recovery.
Passing the CR Early Is Smart
The House should pass the CR now rather than wait until September to begin another government funding fight. Waiting would make another shutdown more likely, which would be costly for taxpayers.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently released a Dear Colleague letter claiming that Democrats “want to fund the government, avoid a shutdown, and pass strong bipartisan appropriations bills that improve people’s lives.”
The House should pass the clean CR. Schumer and his Democratic colleagues should then provide the votes needed, before leaving for the August recess, to make good on their claim and keep the government open.