With less than two months remaining before a potential government shutdown, Congress has made little progress on passing the remaining nine annual appropriations bills needed to fund federal agencies for fiscal year 2026. Despite the urgent deadline, the House has no plans to advance any funding legislation before the Christmas recess.
Instead, House leadership is prioritizing a new healthcare proposal, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act. Unveiled late Friday, the bill is a Republican counter to Democrats’ failed effort to renew enhanced Obamacare subsidies. The issue over healthcare spending was a central reason Democrats refused to support a fourth Continuing Resolution (CR) earlier this year, triggering a government shutdown on October 1.
The Senate is also at a standstill. A proposed five-bill minibus package is being blocked by internal Republican disagreements over earmarks. The yet-to-be-released package reportedly includes $5 billion in earmarked funds and would cover funding for key federal departments: Transportation and Housing and Urban Development; Defense; Labor and Health and Human Services; Commerce, Justice, and Science; and Interior.
Most federal agencies are still functioning under 2024 funding levels due to Congress failing to pass a formal 2025 budget. Lawmakers passed three consecutive CRs throughout 2025 to delay a full shutdown. When the final CR expired in October, Democrats rejected an extension unless Republicans agreed to continue Obamacare premium subsidies. This led to a record 43-day shutdown, which ended only after Democrats backed a temporary CR and a three-bill minibus.
That minibus provided full-year funding for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; the FDA and Agriculture programs; and the Legislative Branch. However, the remaining nine appropriations bills, including those in the current stalled minibus, are still incomplete. These bills must pass by February 1, the expiration date of the most recent CR, to avoid another partial shutdown.
Passage of appropriations bills typically takes two to three weeks once legislative text is finalized. With just seven weeks left and Congress entering recess, lawmakers will return from the holidays with a narrow window to fund the government or risk another costly shutdown.
