Which Bill Carried the Money

Since FY2011, 188 of 192 appropriations bill-years were enacted in packages or full-year CRs, and 10 of the 26 enacting measures began as unrelated bills.

Most years finish late, and the last bill arrives months after October 1

The fiscal year begins October 1. Annual discretionary appropriations are written in regular bills, one per Appropriations subcommittee: 13 through FY2005, 11 in FY2006 and FY2007 and 12 since FY2008 (CRS R46595). If a regular bill is not law by October 1, a continuing resolution (CR) can fund the agency; if neither is in force, funding lapses, and since two Attorney General opinions in 1980 and 1981 agencies must begin terminating activities not excepted (CRS RS20348; CRS R41948).

Four of the 51 fiscal years from FY1977 through FY2027 opened with every regular bill enacted: FY1977, FY1989, FY1995 and FY1997 (Exhibit 60; CRS R46595). Counts come from CRS for FY1977–FY2025; FY2026 and FY2027, counted here from the enacting acts, had no bill enacted by October 1 (GovInfo, public laws). Brookings differs from CRS in four years; for FY1997 it counts 8, with a footnote that all bills were enacted by October 1 but not as 13 separate acts (Brookings, Vital Statistics on Congress, Table 7-6).

60. No fiscal year after FY1997 began with every bill enacted

Source. CRS R46595 Table 1; Brookings Vital Statistics Table 7-6; public laws for FY2026–FY2027

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Method. FY1977–FY2025 follow CRS R46595 Table 1. FY2026 and FY2027 are counted from the enacting acts. Where Brookings Table 7-6 differs on bills enacted by the start of the year (FY1982, FY1997, FY2009, FY2017), the comment column of the CSV records its figure. For FY1989, Brookings footnote c notes that Congress cleared all bills by the start of the year but the President signed the last one the following day; both sources show 13.

CRS counts 207 CRs enacted in FY1977–FY2025, from none in FY1989, FY1995 and FY1997 to 21 in FY2001 (Exhibit 61; CRS R46595). In the 15 years FY2011–FY2025 the count ran from 2 to 8 a year (CRS R46595).

61. 207 CRs in FY1977–FY2025, from none to 21 in a year

Source. CRS R46595 Table 1

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Method. Counts public laws that contain a continuing resolution. Brookings differs from CRS in FY1981, FY1987, FY2009, FY2014 and FY2015; the comment column records its figure.

CRS lists 23 funding gaps in 16 fiscal years since FY1977; their lengths sum to 281 days (this study's sum; Exhibit 62; CRS RS20348). FY2026 accounts for 120 of those days (43%) in three separate gaps: 42 days across the government ending November 12, 2025 (P.L. 119-37), 3 days affecting six bills ending February 3, 2026 (P.L. 119-75) and 75 days for the Department of Homeland Security alone ending April 30, 2026 (P.L. 119-86; CRS RS20348, May 26, 2026; December 18, 2025 version). P.L. 119-86 funded DHS except Border Patrol and ICE; their lapse ended June 10, 2026 with the reconciliation law P.L. 119-98, 116 days from February 14 by CRS R49105's count (CRS R49427; CRS R49105). CRS notes that media reports suggest gaps before FY1982 caused little or no shutdown, so 1970s day counts are not comparable (CRS RS20348).

62. FY2026 had 120 lapse days in 3 gaps, 75 of them for DHS alone

Source. CRS RS20348, Federal Funding Gaps (updated May 26, 2026)

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Method. Days are full days between the end of budget authority and the enacting law. The FY2026 column sums three separate gaps (42, 3 and 75 days). CRS R49105 counts the Border Patrol and ICE lapse at 116 days, to June 10, 2026 (P.L. 119-98); it is not added. CRS reports that gaps before FY1982 appear to have caused little or no shutdown.

The last regular bill became law 78 to 216 days after October 1 in each of the 16 years FY2011–FY2026, a median of 159.5 days (Exhibit 63; GovInfo, public laws). The shortest was FY2016 (P.L. 114-113, December 18, 2015; GovInfo) and the longest FY2017 (P.L. 115-31, May 5, 2017; GovInfo). Nine of the 16 years ran past day 150 (GovInfo, public laws). Funding lapsed in four of them (FY2014, FY2018, FY2019 and FY2026), for 172 days in all (CRS RS20348). Bills became law before October 1 in two years: MilCon-VA in FY2017 and five bills in FY2019 (CRS R46595).

63. Last bill enacted 78 to 216 days after Oct. 1, FY2011–FY2026

Source. Public laws on govinfo.gov, FY2011–FY2026

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Method. Days run from October 1 of the prior calendar year to the date the last act with regular text or a full-year CR became law. Interim CRs are excluded.

How each bill reached the President

Each bill-year (one regular bill in one fiscal year) is classified by the act that finally funded it. A stand-alone act is the only regular text in its act; a package carries two or more. CRS calls every package an omnibus; this study calls one of 2 to 10 bills a minibus and one of 11 or more an omnibus, a threshold CRS does not give (CRS RL32473; CRS IN12324). Bills funded by a full-year CR division are full-year CR bill-years; an interim CR division, as in P.L. 115-245, does not change a bill's class. The State-Foreign Operations bill, titled National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs from FY2026 (P.L. 119-75, Division F; GovInfo), is one bill throughout.

From FY1986 through FY2016, 191 of 390 bill-years (48.97%; RL32473 prints 48.9%) were enacted stand-alone, 170 in multi-bill acts and 29 under full-year CRs (Exhibit 64; CRS RL32473). From FY2017 through FY2026, 2 of 120 (1.7%) were stand-alone, 106 were in packages and 12 were under a full-year CR (GovInfo, public laws). The last year in which every bill was enacted stand-alone was FY2006, and since FY2008 no year has had more than 6 stand-alone bills (CRS RL32473; GovInfo, public laws).

64. Stand-alone share of bills: 49% in FY1986–FY2016, 2% since

Source. CRS RL32473 Table 3 (FY1986–FY2016); public laws on govinfo.gov (FY2017–FY2026)

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Method. A stand-alone act is the only regular text in its act. A multi-bill act has two or more. CR divisions inside either type are ignored. RL32473 calls every multi-bill act an omnibus. FY2011 follows RL32473 (all 12 bills under a full-year CR); Exhibit 65 counts Defense as stand-alone, which on this chart would make FY1986–FY2016 192 of 390 (49.2%) rather than 191. 191 of 390 is 48.97%, which RL32473 prints as 48.9%. FY2027, with no bill yet enacted, is in the CSV but not plotted.

Across FY2011–FY2026 the matrix holds 192 bill-years: 4 stand-alone, 158 in packages and 30 under full-year CRs (Exhibit 65; GovInfo, public laws). The four stand-alone cases are Defense in FY2011 (P.L. 112-10, April 15, 2011, Division A, with the other 11 bills under its Division B full-year CR), DHS in FY2015 (P.L. 114-4, March 4, 2015, after the other 11 bills became law on December 16, 2014), MilCon-VA in FY2017 (P.L. 114-223, September 29, 2016, with an interim CR for the other 11) and DHS in FY2026 (P.L. 119-86, April 30, 2026, after the other 11 became law by February 3, 2026; GovInfo, public laws). The 30 full-year CR bill-years are 11 bills in FY2011, seven in FY2013 (P.L. 113-6) and all 12 in FY2025 (P.L. 119-4; GovInfo).

65. Only 4 of 192 bill-years since FY2011 were stand-alone acts

Source. Public laws and BILLSTATUS records on govinfo.gov; CRS RL32473

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Method. FY2011 Defense is stand-alone because Division A of P.L. 112-10 is the only regular text in the act; its Division B is a full-year CR for the other 11 bills. RL32473 Table 3 counts all 12 FY2011 bills as full-year CR, so Exhibit 64, which follows RL32473 through FY2016, differs by that one bill. Rows are ordered by years enacted stand-alone, then alphabetically. FY2027 rows (pending) are in the CSV but not plotted.

From FY2011 through FY2026 the House passed MilCon-VA in all 16 years, Defense and Energy-Water in 13 each and Labor-HHS in 4 (Exhibit 66; GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). The Senate passed no bill more than 5 times in 16 years (Agriculture, MilCon-VA and Transportation-HUD, 5 each) and passed Homeland Security and State-Foreign Operations in none (GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). These counts use prior passage as defined in CRS RL32473 Table 2: a chamber vote on its own text before the negotiated text that became law (CRS RL32473).

Source. CRS RL32473 Table 2 (method); BILLSTATUS records on govinfo.gov

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Method. Prior passage is a chamber vote on its own text before the negotiated text that became law, the convention in RL32473 Table 2.

Of the 26 enacting measures in FY2011–FY2026, 16 had an appropriations title as introduced in the BILLSTATUS record and 10 had an unrelated title (Exhibit 67; GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). The 10 unrelated measures carried 100 of the 192 bill-years (GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). In each, the House passed the bill under suspension of the rules and the Senate amended it with appropriations text, by unanimous consent for nine and by voice vote for H.R. 2471, before the chambers voted on the final text (GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). H.R. 3547 (Space Launch Liability Indemnification Extension Act; House 376–5, December 2, 2013) became the 12-bill FY2014 act, P.L. 113-76 (BILLSTATUS). H.R. 244 (HIRE Vets Act; 409–1, February 13, 2017) became the 11-bill FY2017 act, P.L. 115-31 (BILLSTATUS). H.R. 2617 (Performance Enhancement Reform Act; 414–10, September 28, 2021) became the 12-bill FY2023 act, P.L. 117-328 (BILLSTATUS). H.R. 1865 (a commemorative coin bill) became the 8-bill P.L. 116-94 and H.R. 2471 (a Haiti recovery bill) the 12-bill P.L. 117-103 (BILLSTATUS, H.R. 1865; H.R. 2471). The FY2027 CR followed: H.R. 6500 (AGOA Extension Act; 340–54, January 12, 2026) became P.L. 119-103 (BILLSTATUS).

67. 10 of 26 enacting measures began as unrelated bills

Source. BILLSTATUS records and public laws on govinfo.gov

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Method. A measure is unrelated-title when its Official Title as Introduced in the BILLSTATUS record is not an appropriations title. The FY2027 CR (P.L. 119-103, unrelated-title) is in the CSV but not plotted.

What the floor record shows

By the same prior-passage count, the Senate passed 4 or fewer appropriations bills in 15 of the 16 completed years FY2011–FY2026 (GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). FY2019 is the exception, with 9 bills in three measures (Exhibit 68; CRS R45906). FY2027, in progress, stands at 3 House and 0 Senate passages (GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records; Senate roll-call votes). The House passed between 2 (FY2011) and 12 (FY2018) bills a year (GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). The 12 in FY2018 include eight first passed inside a single 12-bill package, H.R. 3354, on September 14, 2017 by 211–198 (BILLSTATUS). Four of the 10 House passages in FY2019 and the House vote on DHS in FY2015 came in the following Congress (CRS R43776; CRS R45906; CRS R44062).

68. The Senate passed more than 4 bills in 1 of 16 completed years

Source. BILLSTATUS records on govinfo.gov; CRS reports R43338, R43776, R44062, R45906

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Method. The FY2017 Senate count is a minimum: whether the Senate amendment to H.R. 2577 of May 19, 2016 also carried MilCon-VA could not be read. House counts for FY2015 and FY2019 include votes taken in the next Congress (4 of the 10 FY2019 House passages and the FY2015 DHS vote). In FY2015 and FY2026 the Senate voted on the enacted DHS text only; those votes are not prior passage. FY2027 is in progress as of October 18, 2026 and is shown to date; the title counts the completed years FY2011–FY2026.

Among bills that ended up in multi-bill acts, CRS counts imply the House had passed 84.2% and the Senate 61.4% before the final text in FY1986–FY2000 (57 bills), 67.2% and 52.5% in FY2001–FY2010 (61 bills), and 51.9% and 9.6% in FY2012–FY2016 (52 bills; CRS RL32473). From FY2017 through FY2026 this study counts 68.9% and 18.9% (106 bills; Exhibit 69; GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). FY2019 supplies 9 of the 20 Senate passages in the latest era; without it the Senate share is 11.7% (11 of 94; CRS R45906).

69. Senate prior passage of packaged bills fell from 61.4% to 9.6%

Source. CRS RL32473 Table 2 (FY1986–FY2016); BILLSTATUS records (FY2017–FY2026)

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Method. Shares cover only bills enacted in multi-bill acts, so FY2011 (one stand-alone bill, 11 under a full-year CR) and FY2025 (full-year CR) contribute no packaged bills and do not appear. FY2012–FY2016 is recomputed here and equals the CRS count.

Counting each measure the House passed as first passage for at least one bill, the mean yea share was 69.3% across 33 measures in FY2011–FY2016, 58.1% across 18 in FY2017–FY2021 and 51.2% across 20 in FY2022–FY2026 (Exhibit 70; Clerk of the House, roll call votes). All 20 measures in the last period drew under 60% yea, against 13 of 33 in the first (Clerk of the House).

Source. BILLSTATUS records on govinfo.gov; Clerk of the House roll call votes

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Method. Yea share is yeas divided by yeas plus nays, computed from the tallies in the measures_and_tallies column. A measure counts once, as first passage for at least one bill; failed votes and re-votes of the same text are excluded. Period means are the mean of measure-level shares.

CRS counts 184 regular bills in the 15 fiscal years that coincided with lame-duck sessions (FY1995–FY2025): 51 enacted before the session, 49 during it and 84 (45.7%) after it (Exhibit 71; CRS R46574).

71. In 15 lame-duck years, 84 of 184 bills came after the session

Source. CRS R46574 Table 2 (updated August 31, 2026)

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Method. CRS counts regular bills by whether they were enacted before, during or after the lame-duck session of the Congress that ended in the fiscal year's first quarter. The pending FY2027 row is in the CSV but not plotted.

CRS describes packaging as "an efficient means for resolving outstanding differences" (CRS R42388) and records concern about unrelated provisions in omnibus measures (CRS IN12324). The floor record measures neither claim. It shows three things that moved with the shift to packages (fewer Senate votes on individual bills, narrower House votes on those taken, enacting measures that began as other bills) but not which caused which.

Options for repair, with the strongest case for and against

The options below have a documented congressional record in the CRS and GAO reports retrieved for this study, each with the strongest case for and against and the data here that bear on it. No retrieved source estimates how any option would change enactment dates (see Limitations).

Automatic continuing resolution

An automatic CR would fund activities when no regular or interim appropriation is in force, removing October 1 as a hard deadline. Most proposals use the lowest of several rates (the prior-year act, the latest CR, a chamber-passed bill or the President's request), and most permanent versions apply only under set conditions (CRS R41948).

For. Supporters cite service disruption, such as benefit processing and park access, and agency work hours lost before, during and after a gap (CRS R41948). CBO's October 29, 2025 six-week scenario put fourth-quarter 2025 growth 1.5 percentage points lower, first-quarter 2026 growth 2.2 points higher and $11 billion (2025 dollars) of real GDP unrecovered; the Bipartisan Policy Center, cited by CRS, counted at least 670,000 federal employees furloughed and roughly 730,000 working without pay (CBO, October 29, 2025; CRS R48832). Interim CRs also cause delays: GAO (September 2017) found CRs in all but 4 of the last 40 years, a period it does not list and not the same count as Exhibit 61's 3 years with none, and officials at selected agencies delayed hiring or contracts during them (GAO-17-807T). CRS calls the evidence on such effects limited and mostly anecdotal (CRS RL34700). A narrow version was enacted in 2013: the Pay Our Military Act, P.L. 113-39, passed the House 423–0 and the Senate by unanimous consent (CRS R41948).

Against. Opponents argue that a default funding level favors whichever side prefers it, and the House Appropriations Committee warned that inaction could become "a legitimate strategy" (CRS R41948). Without a shutdown threat the parties might hold out. One rate for all accounts limits changes to individual programs, and the OMB Director testified that an automatic CR "is not a workable policy" (CRS R41948). CBO scored H.R. 853 and S. 558 (106th Congress) as direct spending requiring offsets (CRS R41948). Floor tests have mostly failed: 173–236 (106th Congress), 111–304 and 88–326 (108th), 25–72 on a Budget Act waiver (110th) and 52–46 to table (113th; CRS R41948). The one passage, 227–197 in the House in the 105th Congress, was on an amendment to a bill that was vetoed (CRS R41948).

What the data bear on. An automatic CR addresses the 4 years in FY2011–FY2026 in which funding lapsed, 172 days in all (CRS RS20348). The vehicle pattern in Exhibits 64 and 65 (188 of 192 bill-years in packages or under full-year CRs) is a separate matter that no retrieved source tests (GovInfo, public laws).

Biennial budgeting

Most proposals combine multiyear authorizations, two-year budget resolutions and two-year appropriations, the most controversial element (CRS R44732).

For. A two-year cycle removes annual review of routine matters, leaves the second session of each Congress for oversight and gives federal, state and local governments longer funding certainty. Four administrations, from the 1980s through the 2000s, supported it (CRS R44732).

Against. Budgeting would rest on forecasts made "as much as 30 months in advance" rather than 18 (CRS R44732). Mid-cycle corrections could cancel expected savings. Annual appropriations review is an oversight tool, fewer budget battles could make each more contentious, and without a first-year authorization session Members might use appropriations bills to change policy. CRS calls the evidence on the 19 states with a two-year cycle inconclusive (CRS R44732).

Record. Floor tests: 53–45 to table (Senate, 1987), voice vote with the provision dropped in conference (1989), 201–217 (House, 2000), 88–326 (House, 2004; the 108th Congress vote above), and in 2013 a Senate amendment creating a deficit-neutral reserve fund for biennial budgeting adopted 68–31, followed by passage of the Senate budget resolution 50–49 (CRS R44732). The Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform (P.L. 115-123, February 9, 2018), whose cochair's mark provided for a two-year budget resolution, failed to report a bill in November 2018: 1 aye to 7 noes among majority-side appointees and 7 to 0 among minority-side appointees (CRS R45111).

What the data bear on. The record here covers one-year cycles only: the 16 completions in FY2011–FY2026 ran 78 to 216 days past October 1, and nothing retrieved estimates what a two-year cycle would do to that range (GovInfo, public laws).

Earlier and firmer process steps

The budget resolution has an April 15 target that Congress has often missed (CRS R42388). Without one, the House may generally take up appropriations bills after May 15 and the Senate may not until the Appropriations Committee has its ceilings (CRS R42388). The House almost always uses a Rules Committee special rule; the Senate sets limits, when it does, by unanimous consent (CRS R42388; CRS R47031).

For. FY2019 is the closest case. The Senate passed nine bills in three measures by August 23, 2018, and five were law before October 1 (P.L. 115-244 on September 21, P.L. 115-245 on September 28), the most in any year since FY2011 (CRS R45906).

Against. The other seven bills, four of which the Senate had already passed (Agriculture, Financial Services, Interior and Transportation-HUD), became law on February 15, 2019 (P.L. 116-6), after a 34-day lapse that ended January 25 (P.L. 116-5; CRS R45906; CRS RS20348). Early passage in one chamber did not by itself produce enactment.

What the data bear on. The Senate passed 3 or more bills on their own text in 5 of the 16 years (FY2012, FY2019, FY2020, FY2024 and FY2026) and never more than 9 (GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). The sources do not say why other years differ.

Smaller or larger packages

For larger packages. CRS names efficiency as the main argument for omnibus measures when progress is slow and deadlines are close (CRS IN12324). Of the 37 multi-bill acts since FY1986, 12 carried 11 or more bills (Exhibit 72; CRS RL32473; GovInfo, public laws). Nine years ended with one act carrying all 12 bills, on days 196 (FY2011), 176 (FY2013), 108 (FY2014), 78 (FY2016), 173 (FY2018), 87 (FY2021), 165 (FY2022), 89 (FY2023) and 165 (FY2025), a median of 165; FY2016 had no lapse (GovInfo, public laws).

72. 37 multi-bill acts since FY1986; 12 carried 11 or more bills

Source. CRS RL32473; public laws on govinfo.gov

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Method. Minibus (2–10 bills) and omnibus (11 or more) are this study's size classes; CRS IN12324 gives no threshold. The catalog also lists the 11 acts that were full-year CRs only (FY1978–FY1985, FY1992, FY2007, FY2025) and P.L. 112-10 (FY2011), which has one stand-alone bill and a full-year CR for 11.

Against larger packages. CRS says a proposal might be "buried in omnibus legislation hundreds or thousands of pages in length" and a measure can be added with scant notice (CRS R46597), and 7 of the 10 unrelated-origin vehicles above carried 11 or more bills (GovInfo, BILLSTATUS records). A larger package also gives every included bill the same enactment date: FY2017's 11-bill act became law on day 216 (GovInfo, P.L. 115-31).

For smaller packages. Smaller packages put fewer bills in one vote: FY2024's two six-bill packages passed the House 339–85 and 286–134, against 225–201 for the 12-bill FY2023 act (P.L. 118-42, 118-47 and 117-328; Clerk of the House).

Against smaller packages. More vehicles create more deadlines. FY2026 had three lapses totaling 120 days (CRS RS20348). FY2024's two packages arrived on days 160 and 174, and FY2019's smaller packages left seven bills for February (GovInfo, public laws).

What the data bear on. In FY2017–FY2026 the 5 packages of 11 or more bills became law 87 to 216 days after October 1 (median 165) and the 10 smaller packages from 10 days before to 174 days after (median 97; GovInfo, public laws). Counting only 12-bill packages, the 4 range from 87 to 173 days (median 127; GovInfo, public laws). Other differences between years are not controlled for.

What is coming

As of October 18, 2026, no regular FY2027 bill is law (CRS R49353). P.L. 119-103 (H.R. 6500), signed September 2, 2026, makes funding for all 12 bills available until December 11, 2026, or until the applicable FY2027 appropriations act is enacted, whichever first occurs (sec. 106; GovInfo, P.L. 119-103). The Senate passed it 90–6 on August 8 and the House agreed 370–48 on September 1 (BILLSTATUS). An earlier House CR, H.R. 9770, passed 220–205 on July 21; the Senate instead amended H.R. 6500 with CR text (CRS R49427; CRS R49353).

The House has passed 3 of the 12 FY2027 bills (Exhibit 73): MilCon-VA, H.R. 8469, 400–15 on May 15; Agriculture, H.R. 8646, 213–210 on June 4; and State-Foreign Operations, H.R. 8595, 217–209 on July 15 (BILLSTATUS, H.R. 8469; H.R. 8646; H.R. 8595). The House Appropriations Committee has reported its version of all 12 (CRS R49353). The Senate has passed none; its Appropriations Committee had reported none as of September 17 and 30, and the Senate roll-call menu shows no FY2027 appropriations vote through vote 256, on September 30 (CRS R49353; CRS R49427; Senate roll-call votes). The three House-passed bills drew a mean yea share of 65.9%, with a range of 50.4% to 96.4% (Clerk of the House).

73. FY2027 floor action by Oct. 18, 2026: House 3 of 12, Senate 0

Source. CRS R49353, R49427; BILLSTATUS records

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Method. House floor dates, tallies and roll numbers are from each bill’s BILLSTATUS record; the Senate stages are from CRS R49353 and R49427 and the Senate roll-call menu through vote 256 (September 30, 2026). House committee dates and votes, not re-verified for this part, are left out.

The December 11 expiration falls after the November 2026 general election. In the 15 earlier fiscal years that coincided with a lame-duck session, outcomes ranged from all bills enacted before the session (FY1995 and FY1999) to all 12 under a full-year CR after it (FY2011, FY2013 and FY2025), with all 12 enacted during it in FY2021 and FY2023 (CRS R46574). The record offers precedent for each outcome, not a likelihood.

Limitations (13)

Coverage. Per-bill data before FY2011. For FY1977–FY2010 only CRS aggregates were available, so the matrix starts at FY2011. Law dates and last-bill dates for FY1986–FY2010 are as printed by CRS or were not retrieved.
Conflicting sources. Two CRS date and count conflicts. For P.L. 99-591 (FY1987), RL32473 gives October 18, 1986 and R46595 and R42647 give October 30, 1986; this study uses October 30. For FY1986, RL32473 counts 7 regular bills in P.L. 99-190 and R42647 counts 8 acts covered.
Unverified. Dollars. Counts weight every bill equally; dollar totals by act were not re-verified and are not used.
Unverified. FY2017 MilCon-VA in the Senate. Whether the May 19, 2016 Senate amendment to H.R. 2577, whose Division A is Transportation-HUD, also carried MilCon-VA could not be read. The Senate count for FY2017 is a minimum.
Conflicting sources. CRS IN12324 (Omnibus Appropriations: Overview of Recent Practice) counts 36 omnibus measures since 1982 carrying 276 of 525 possible bills. From FY1986, with RL32473 and this study’s reading, the catalog holds 34 multi-bill acts carrying 265 bills through FY2024. The sources retrieved do not list acts before FY1986, so the 2-act, 11-bill difference is not reconciled.
Unverified. FY2027 House bill numbers for Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Financial Services, Interior, Legislative Branch and Transportation-HUD were not retrieved. FY2027 House committee dates and votes were not re-verified for this part and are left out.
Conflicting sources. Source conflicts resolved in favor of the primary record: the FY2020 Senate vote on H.R. 3055 (CRFB 82–11; Senate.gov 84–9), the FY2026 Senate vote on H.R. 3944 (CRFB 81–15; BILLSTATUS 87–9), the FY2023 House vote on H.R. 2617 (CRFB 221–205; the Clerk and BILLSTATUS 225–201), the House date of H.R. 2055 (CRS June 16, 2011; BILLSTATUS June 14, 2011) and the House date of H.R. 2216 (R43338 June 5, 2013; BILLSTATUS June 4, 2013).
Unverified. Absences. A blank prior-passage cell means no vote was found, not that none occurred. The absence was confirmed against a CRS status table or a BILLSTATUS record for most years, but not for DHS and Legislative Branch in FY2020 and FY2021, Commerce-Justice-Science, Defense and DHS in FY2022, Senate floor action in FY2018 and FY2024, Senate action in FY2011 or the FY2025 detail, which rests on CRFB.
Unverified. The divisions of H.R. 3354, the FY2018 House package. Its short title names 12 appropriations acts; each division was not individually confirmed.
Unverified. The counts were not checked against CRS’s Appropriations Status Table or congress.gov bill pages, which could not be opened; they rest on GovInfo BILLSTATUS records and CRS reports as published by EveryCRSReport.
Unverified. Whether an automatic CR or a two-year cycle would change timing. No CBO assessment was retrieved, and GAO-09-879 could be read only at the product-page summary.
Unverified. This study’s own CR counts for FY2026 and FY2027 were not checked against a CRS table and are not used. CRS R46595 states that 15 full-year CRs have been enacted while its Table 3 lists 16.
Unverified. Whether Congress acted between October 1 and October 18, 2026 beyond what the Senate roll-call menu and the House Clerk page showed.

Which Bill Carried the Money

Most years finish late, and the last bill arrives months after October 1

How each bill reached the President

What the floor record shows

Options for repair, with the strongest case for and against

Automatic continuing resolution

Biennial budgeting

Earlier and firmer process steps

Smaller or larger packages

What is coming

Limitations (13)

Sources (8)

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