Fiscal year (FY) 2025 ends on September 30 and the continuing resolution (CR) that has funded the federal government since March 15 will expire. Therefore, Congress will have just 28 days to avoid a lapse in government funding when it returns from its August recess on September 2. In a new insight, Director of Fiscal Policy Jordan Haring explains where the FY 2026 appropriations process stands in both the House and Senate.

Key points:

• Congress must complete work on the 12 full-year appropriations bills for FY 2026 or enact another CR to keep the federal government funded at current levels prior to October 1; otherwise, a government shutdown will occur.
• Congress has not yet enacted any of the 12 full-year appropriations bills FY 2026, though the appropriations process has been underway in both the House and Senate.
• The House Appropriations Committee adopted 302(b) subcommittee allocations that allocate nearly $1.6 trillion of total base discretionary budget authority for FY 2026, including $892.5 billion for defense discretionary programs and $705.6 billion for nondefense discretionary programs. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not adopted 302(b)s and the subcommittees are unveiling the topline amount for their respective appropriations bill as the bills are introduced.

Read the analysis.