Twelve Bills, None Enacted
As of October 17, none of the 12 FY2027 appropriations bills is law; a continuing resolution funds all 12 at the FY2026 rate through December 11.
Where the 12 bills stand
The House Appropriations Committee approved all 12 FY2027 bills between April 21 and June 24, 2026, and filed reports on them between April 23 and June 26 (House Appropriations Committee, FY27 markup schedule and FY27 bill text and reports; CRS, R49023). Eleven were approved by margins of 4 to 10 votes; Military Construction-VA was approved 58–0 (House Appropriations Committee releases). The full House has passed three: Military Construction-VA (H.R. 8469) on May 15, 400–15; Agriculture-FDA (H.R. 8646) on June 4, 213–210; and National Security-State (H.R. 8595) on July 15, 217–209 (Clerk of the House, roll calls 175, 205 and 247). As passed, H.R. 8595 has two divisions: the appropriations act and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (GovInfo, H.R. 8595 as engrossed). The other nine bills are reported and await floor action; on October 20, 2026, the Clerk listed the House’s next session as October 22 (Clerk of the House).
The Senate Appropriations Committee has reported none of the 12 (CRS, R49353 and R49427). A full-committee markup of four bills (Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, Commerce-Justice-Science and Legislative Branch) listed for June 25 was postponed, and CRS reports that the committee has released no informal subcommittee allocations (Senate Appropriations Committee, hearings; CRS, R49344). The Senate’s FY2027 floor action on appropriations to date is the continuing resolution, which passed 90–6 on August 8 (U.S. Senate, roll call vote 228).
The continuing resolution took four steps. The House passed H.R. 9770, running through December 4, by 220–205 on July 21 (Clerk of the House, roll call 272). The Senate substituted its own text into H.R. 6500, running through December 11, and passed it 90–6 on August 8 (U.S. Senate, roll call vote 228). The House concurred 370–48 on September 1, and the President signed it September 2 as P.L. 119-103 (Clerk of the House, roll call 286; CRS, R49353). Division A covers all 12 bills for a 72-day period from October 1 through December 11, 2026; absent new law, a funding gap would begin on December 12 (CRS, R49353).
The three passed bills carry 12.4% of House-level base budget authority ($230.6 billion of $1,854.7 billion; CBO, FY2027 House status report, June 25, 2026). Defense, at $1,072.2 billion, carries 57.8% of that base and has not received a floor vote (CBO, FY2027 House status report). (Exhibits 74 and 75.)
74. Twelve bills reported, three passed the House, none enacted
Source. House Appropriations Committee; Clerk of the House; CRS R49353 (September 17, 2026), as of October 17, 2026
Full sizeMethod. A filled dot marks a stage a bill has reached, read from the CSV: House committee when house_reported_date is filled, House floor when house_passed_date is filled, and Senate committee, Senate floor and Enacted when the matching column reads Yes; coverage by the CR is not a stage, so the grid has 12 filled dots in the first column, 3 in the second and none in the other three.
75. Passed bills hold 12% of House-level base dollars
Source. CBO FY2027 status (House, June 25, 2026); Clerk of the House; CRS R49353
Full sizeMethod. Share is the House-level base budget authority of the three passed bills divided by the House-level base total of all 12.
The dollar gap
Levels. CBO’s annualized estimate for the CR is $1,700.9 billion in budget authority: $907.9 billion of security base, $758.9 billion of nonsecurity base, $32.6 billion in designated categories (disaster relief $26.6 billion, program integrity $3.1 billion, wildfire suppression $2.9 billion) and $1.5 billion of emergency-designated Superfund funding (CBO, estimate for P.L. 119-103, August 5, 2026). CBO’s June 25 status report for the House scores the reported and passed bills at $1,890.9 billion on the same categories: $1,136.8 billion security base, $717.8 billion nonsecurity base, $34.7 billion designated and the same $1.5 billion emergency item. The difference is $190.0 billion: the security (defense) base is $228.9 billion higher, the nonsecurity base $41.0 billion lower and designated categories $2.1 billion higher; against FY2026 enacted levels the security and nonsecurity base changes are +$234.2 billion and −$9.2 billion (CBO, estimate for P.L. 119-103, FY2027 House status report and FY2026 status report). CBO’s FY2026 status report (April 30, 2026) shows enacted base levels of $902.6 billion security and $727.0 billion nonsecurity.
By bill. House committee levels are $225.1 billion above FY2026 in base budget authority, and Defense accounts for $233.6 billion of that (from $838.7 billion to $1,072.2 billion, +27.8%; CBO, FY2027 House and FY2026 status reports). The other 11 bills together are $8.5 billion (1.1%) lower on CBO’s totals, or about $6.6 billion lower with Legislative Branch held at the committee’s figure (CBO, FY2027 House status report; House Appropriations Committee). Homeland Security is up $9.9 billion (+18.0%) to $64.9 billion before $28.4 billion of designated disaster funding (CBO, FY2027 House status report); CRS notes that at least $17.06 billion of the House level funds ICE and Border Patrol activities that FY2026 financed through the reconciliation law rather than appropriations (CRS, R49427). Military Construction-VA is up $3.7 billion (+2.4%), and Energy-Water and Interior-Environment are each up $0.3 to $0.5 billion (CBO, FY2027 House and FY2026 status reports). Six bills fall on a like-for-like basis: Transportation-HUD −$10.7 billion (−10.4%), Labor-HHS-Education −$5.6 billion (−2.9%), National Security-State −$2.7 billion (−5.4%), Financial Services-General Government −$1.0 billion (−3.8%), Commerce-Justice-Science −$0.7 billion (−0.9%) and Agriculture-FDA −$0.4 billion (−1.4%) (CBO, FY2027 House and FY2026 status reports). CBO’s House total for Legislative Branch omits Senate items by convention, which produces a −$1.8 billion change on its basis; the House committee states a $7.3 billion allocation, $42.5 million above FY2026, so this study treats that bill as roughly flat (CBO, FY2027 House status report; House Appropriations Committee). The same artifact sits inside the nonsecurity base totals above, where it accounts for up to $1.9 billion of the −$9.2 billion and −$41.0 billion (CBO, FY2027 House status report; House Appropriations Committee). (Exhibit 76.)
76. Defense gains $233.6B in House bills; 6 of 11 others fall
Source. CBO status reports, FY2027 House (June 25, 2026) and FY2026 (April 30, 2026)
Full sizeMethod. Both levels are CBO base budget authority (security plus nonsecurity), excluding designated and emergency amounts; the Legislative Branch bar is not like for like because CBO’s House total omits Senate items, and the House committee states $7.3B, $42.5M above FY2026.
Two baselines. The nonsecurity comparison differs by baseline. CBO’s annualized CR figure for nonsecurity base ($758.9 billion) is $31.9 billion higher than the FY2026 enacted nonsecurity base in CBO’s own FY2026 status report ($727.0 billion). The CBO documents reviewed do not itemize the difference; in the by-bill rows it sits mostly in Labor-HHS-Education (+$28.9 billion), and because Section 101(8) of the CR excludes the $11.661 billion IRS rescission from the CR rate (CRS, R49353), part of that gap may reflect how the CR is scored and not a House funding choice. This study therefore uses the FY2026 enacted level as the baseline for each bill and uses the CR estimate only for totals. The security difference is $5.3 billion (CBO, estimate for P.L. 119-103 and FY2026 status report). (Exhibit 77.)
77. House security level is $228.9B above the CR baseline
Source. CBO status reports, FY2027 House (June 25, 2026) and FY2026 (April 30, 2026); CBO cost estimate for P.L. 119-103
Full sizeMethod. The CR bar is CBO’s annualized estimate, which sits $5.3B above FY2026 for security and $31.9B above for nonsecurity.
Request. The President’s FY2027 request, submitted April 3, 2026, asks for $1,154 billion in base defense (function 050), $251 billion (+27.8%) above the FY2026 enacted $903 billion, and $660 billion in base nondefense, $73 billion (−10.0%) below $733 billion (OMB, Budget of the U.S. Government, FY2027, Table S-2); Part 10, The Federal Funding Calendar, uses a different nondefense figure, $721 billion (−16%) from Table 2 of CBO’s analysis of the President’s 2027 budget (June 30, 2026), which includes nonbase funding. The request also adds a proposed $350 billion of mandatory defense resources, which is outside the appropriations bills (OMB, Table S-2). OMB’s FY2026 figure for function 050 ($903 billion) and CBO’s FY2026 security base ($902.6 billion; CBO, FY2026 status report) are close, and the House security base ($1,136.8 billion) is about $17 billion below the request, though the two sources’ category definitions are not identical. (Exhibit 78.) Where one CRS table shows FY2026, the request and the House level on a single basis, the House level is above the request in Agriculture-FDA (+19.1%), Commerce-Justice-Science (+7.9%, before rescissions), Interior-Environment (+22.6%) and National Security-State (+33.4%), and within 0.3% of it in Energy-Water and Homeland Security (CRS, R49343, R48929, R48944, R49292, R48956 and R49427). These figures use CRS’s gross appropriations; the comparison depends on basis. CRS’s Energy-Water table subtracts $19.9 billion of scorekeeping adjustments from the request, which leaves an adjusted request of $42.8 billion against $58.5 billion in the House bill (+36.7%; CRS, R48944). (Exhibit 79.)
78. The request raises defense 27.8% and cuts nondefense 10.0%
Source. OMB, Budget of the U.S. Government FY2027, Table S-2
Full sizeMethod. Bars are OMB Table S-2 base discretionary budget authority in billions of dollars for defense (function 050) and nondefense, FY2026 enacted against the FY2027 request, in the whole billions the CSV lists; the changes in the title are the CSV change_pct (+251 on 903, −73 on 733), and the proposed $350 billion of mandatory defense resources is excluded.
79. House gross levels run 8% to 33% above the request in 4 of 6
Source. CRS R49343, R48929, R48944, R49292, R48956, R49427
Full sizeMethod. Percentages use CRS gross appropriations from one CRS table per bill, so the three levels share a basis within a bill; bases differ across bills and are not summed. After CRS’s scorekeeping adjustments the Energy-Water request is $42.8B against $58.5B in the House bill (+36.7%); Commerce-Justice-Science is before rescissions.
Senate. No formal Senate Appropriations Committee allocation or reported level exists for any bill as of October 17, 2026, and no budget resolution or statutory cap sets one for either chamber (CBO, FY2027 House status report; CRS, R49344). The House Appropriations Committee adopted interim suballocations for 6 of its 12 subcommittees, totaling $340.5 billion (the sum of the six amounts in the committee’s release), on a 32–28 vote in April (House Appropriations Committee, subcommittee allocations; CBO, FY2027 House status report).
Emergency and designated amounts. The House Homeland Security bill designates $28.39 billion for the costs of major disasters, against a request of $28.38 billion and a CR availability cap of $26.37 billion for the DRF (CRS, R49353 and R49427). The Interior bill includes $2.95 billion for wildfire suppression and the Labor-HHS bill $3.18 billion for program integrity (CBO, FY2027 House status report). The $1.537 billion Superfund item is emergency-designated in both the CR and the House bill and is excluded from allocations (CBO, estimate for P.L. 119-103 and FY2027 House status report). (Exhibit 80.)
80. House disaster funding is $28.39B; CR cap is $26.37B
Source. CRS R49353 and R49427; House Appropriations Committee
Full sizeMethod. Bars are the first three CSV rows in billions of dollars: the CR Section 137 cap on availability for the CR’s duration ($26.37B), the FY2027 request ($28.38B) and the House bill’s allocation adjustment ($28.39B), the last two for major disaster costs; the fourth row, the latest unobligated balance, has no value in the CSV and is not plotted.
What the CR does and cannot do
General terms. Section 101 appropriates “such amounts as may be necessary” at the rate in the FY2026 acts, under their authorities and conditions. Section 104 bars new starts, Section 109 bars obligations at high initial rates, Section 110 limits agencies to “the most limited funding action,” and Section 107 charges CR spending against any later full-year appropriation. Section 111 funds appropriated entitlements at current-law levels, and mandatory payments are covered through the beginning of January 2027 (CRS, R49353). CRS’s section-by-section review of Division A lists 46 provisions under bill headings, with Section 101(5) appearing twice, and a 47th, Section 157, that has no bill heading; 11 of the 12 bill areas have at least one provision under their heading, and National Security-State has none (CRS, R49353). (Exhibit 81.)
81. Transportation-HUD has 10 of the CR’s 46 bill provisions
Source. CRS R49353, Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2027
Full sizeMethod. Counts are CRS’s section headings under each bill in Division A; Section 101(5) is listed twice, and Section 157 (the OMB grants-rule bar) has no bill heading and is not counted in the bars.
Authorities extended in Division A. E-Verify, the Conrad State program, the nonminister religious worker program and the H-2B supplemental visa authority run through December 11; the National Flood Insurance Program keeps $30.4 billion of borrowing authority and its authority to write new policies; TSA reimbursable screening and the CFTC whistleblower program are extended; and Section 157 bars the OMB proposed rule revising the Uniform Guidance for federal awards, or a substantially similar rule, from being issued or finalized through December 11 (CRS, R49353).
Anomalies requested and granted. The Administration reportedly submitted a request for FY2027 CR provisions in July 2026, with a description and justification of each. CRS describes two sections as requested in that submission, the DRF availability provision (Section 137) and the exclusion of the $11.661 billion IRS rescission (Section 101(8)), and a third (Section 135, the G7 summit) as proposed in the President’s budget. The Senate text, which the committee chair and vice chair each described as the product of bipartisan negotiations, differed from the House-passed CR by running to December 11 rather than December 4 and by adding multiple anomalies and provisions reportedly requested by the Administration, together with a provision delaying a rule the Administration proposed (CRS, R49353). The full requested-versus-granted list was not retrievable.
By bill: what a flat rate does not cover.
Agriculture-FDA. Sections 116 to 118 let USDA apportion farm ownership loans, WIC and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program at the rate needed to meet demand, participation or caseload, and Section 119 extends the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act (CRS, R49353). On CRS’s House-bill basis, FY2026 enacted is $26.98 billion and the request is $22.06 billion (CRS, R49343).
Commerce-Justice-Science. Section 120 lets the Census Bureau apportion Periodic Censuses funding at the rate needed to maintain buildup and testing for the 2030 Census; the request sought +$551 million (+47.0%) for that account (CRS, R48929). Section 121 protects the GeoXO satellite launch schedule, Sections 122 and 123 cover Justice Department legal activities and the Marshals Service, and Section 101(2) excludes a $113 million forfeiture-fund rescission and a $507 million NOAA transfer (CRS, R49353). Under the FY2026 rate NASA is $24.4 billion and NSF $8.8 billion, against requests of $18.8 billion and $4.0 billion (OMB, FY2027 Budget, Table S-3; CRS, R48929).
Defense. Section 102 bars new starts, new production of items not funded in FY2026, production above rates sustained with FY2026 funds, and multiyear procurements that use advance procurement for economic order quantities. Section 126 lets the Navy fund prior-year shipbuilding cost increases, Section 127 allows up to $2.85 billion for National Security Systems in Procurement, Defense-Wide, and Section 128 permits Navy advances to the Maritime Administration for the National Defense Reserve Fleet (CRS, R49353). The request for function 050 is $1,154 billion, with a further $350 billion proposed as mandatory; the House Defense bill is $1,072.2 billion within a $1,136.8 billion House security base (OMB, FY2027 Budget; CBO, FY2027 House status report).
Energy-Water. NNSA is $25.404 billion in FY2026, against a $32.8 billion request (+$7.398 billion, +29%) and a $27.072 billion House committee level (CRS, R48944). Section 130 lets Weapons Activities funds prevent demobilization at the Nevada National Security Site and termination of a transmission-line contract at Los Alamos, and maintain a subprogram of the Rapid and Advanced Capabilities warhead development program. Section 131 continues the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant hoisting project, and Section 129 raises a Calfed Bay-Delta authorization from $32.6 million to $40.0 million (CRS, R49353).
Financial Services-General Government. Section 133 lets SBA lending programs follow demand; Section 135 funds hosting of the G7 Financial Summit, as proposed in the President’s budget; Section 101(5) carries $28 million for protection of Supreme Court Justices; Section 134 extends the CFTC whistleblower program; Section 136 extends through 2027 the pay freeze for the Vice President and certain senior political appointees; and Section 132 approves the District of Columbia budget (CRS, R49353).
Homeland Security. The baseline is P.L. 119-86 without its Division B. ICE and the Border Patrol have no CR appropriation and operate on funding from P.L. 119-98. Section 137 makes up to $26.37 billion available for the DRF, Section 138 extends TSA reimbursable screening, and Section 139 extends the NFIP (CRS, R49353). CRS counts at least $17.06 billion in the House bill for ICE and Border Patrol activities that FY2026 funded through reconciliation (CRS, R49427).
Interior-Environment. Section 140 lets the Office of the Secretary assume Navajo and Hopi relocation functions, since that office received no FY2026 appropriation; Section 141 lets wildland fire accounts run at the rate needed for suppression; Section 142 waives the premium-pay cap for emergency wildfire suppression; Section 143 sets a rate of $84.1 million for two Indian Health Service accounts to staff and operate facilities opened, renovated or expanded in FY2022, FY2026 or FY2027 (CRS, R49353). The FY2026 act included $5.31 billion of FY2027 advance appropriations for the Indian Health Service (CRS, R49292).
Labor-HHS-Education. The single provision, Section 101(8), excludes the FY2026 IRS rescission of $11.661 billion from the CR (CRS, R49353). The House bill is $189.3 billion, $5.6 billion (2.9%) below FY2026 (CBO, FY2027 House and FY2026 status reports).
Legislative Branch. Section 144 bars a Member pay adjustment (the maximum possible for 2027 is 2.8%, +$4,900), and Section 145 pays gratuities for two deceased Members (CRS, R49353). The request of $8.512 billion is 17.3% above the FY2026 enacted level (CRS, R49049).
Military Construction-VA. Section 146 grants a new start for housing at the Medical Education Training Complex at Joint Base San Antonio (request: $303 million in appropriations, $918 million in authorization; CRS, R49353).
National Security-State. No provision. FY2026 enacted is $50.07 billion, the request $35.51 billion and the House-passed level $47.37 billion, all net of rescissions (CRS, R48956).
Transportation-HUD. Ten provisions. Section 147 lets Essential Air Service run at the rate needed; Sections 150, 151, 154 and 155 rescind and reappropriate unobligated balances; Sections 149 and 152 extend availability of FY2018 grant funds; Section 153 permits prior-year balances to meet 2026 Housing Choice Voucher renewals and makes Emergency Housing Voucher households eligible for tenant protection vouchers; Section 156 replaces flexible subsidy loan authority; and Section 148 changes how some budget authority is derived. Section 157, the grants-rule bar described above, is listed after these without a bill heading and is not counted here (CRS, R49353). For HUD, the request is $64.9 billion in net discretionary funding (−16.0% from FY2026) and the House bill $71.4 billion (−7.7%); for DOT, $25.1 billion (−0.2%) and $20.4 billion (−18.7%) (CRS, R49341).
Several provisions address programs whose costs follow demand or events rather than a fixed amount: farm loans, WIC and CSFP caseload, SBA lending, Essential Air Service, wildfire suppression, the DRF and housing vouchers (CRS, R49353).
Why the gap exists
No agreed topline. No statutory caps apply for FY2027 (CBO, FY2027 House status report), and a budget resolution has not been adopted by both chambers. The House passed a budget resolution, H.Con.Res. 113, 216–214 on July 22, 2026; it lets the Committee on Armed Services submit changes in law that increase the deficit by up to $60 billion over fiscal years 2027 to 2036, against $350 billion of mandatory defense resources in the request (Clerk of the House, roll call 281; GovInfo, H.Con.Res. 113 as engrossed; OMB, FY2027 Budget). In the Senate Appropriations Committee, the markups listed for June 25 were postponed (Senate Appropriations Committee, hearings).
The House security base of $1,136.8 billion is 98.5% of the requested $1,154 billion for function 050 (CBO, FY2027 House status report; OMB, FY2027 Budget). The House bills hold nondefense base at −1.3% in aggregate, with concentrated reductions (Transportation-HUD −10.4%), and the request lowers nondefense by 10.0% (CBO, FY2027 House and FY2026 status reports; OMB, FY2027 Budget).
Process and calendar. The House reported all 12 bills by June 26 but has passed 3; the Senate committee has reported none (CRS, R49353).
FY2026 as precedent. The last cycle ended in stages (Exhibit 82). No bill was enacted by October 1, 2025, and funding lapsed for 42 full days (R49105’s Table 1 counts 43) until P.L. 119-37 was enacted November 12, 2025, with full-year Agriculture-FDA, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA bills (11.5% of FY2026 base dollars) and a CR through January 30 for the rest (CRS, R48874 and R49105; CBO, FY2026 status report). P.L. 119-74, enacted January 23, 2026, carried Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water and Interior-Environment (10.7%; CRS, R48944; CBO, FY2026 status report). A brief lapse ran January 31 to February 2, and P.L. 119-75 (February 3, House vote 217–214) enacted Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, Transportation-HUD, Financial Services-General Government and National Security-State (74.4%), with Homeland Security on a CR through February 13 (CRS, R48874; CBO, FY2026 status report). DHS funding lapsed again on February 14. The House passed DHS bills on March 5 (221–209) and March 26 (218–206), the Senate passed an amended version on March 27 without Border Patrol or ICE funding, and the House cleared it on April 30 as P.L. 119-86 (3.4%; CRS, R48874 and R49105; CBO, FY2026 status report). DHS except Border Patrol and ICE finished April 30; Border Patrol and ICE funding came June 10 in P.L. 119-98, the reconciliation law (Senate 52–47 on June 5, House 214–212 on June 9, signed June 10), which provided almost $70 billion for Customs and Border Protection (which includes Border Patrol), ICE and DHS generally, available through FY2029 (CRS, R49427, R48874 and R49105). CRS calls the lapse that began February 14 the longest in the department’s history. For DHS except Border Patrol and ICE it ran to April 30: 76 days with both end dates counted (CRS, R49105, Table 1) or 75 full days (CRS, RS20348). For Border Patrol and ICE, June 10 is 116 days after February 14 (the date difference, as CRS, R49105 lists it).
82. 74% of FY2026 base dollars were enacted on February 3, 2026
Source. CRS R48874, R49105, RS20348; CBO FY2026 status (April 30, 2026)
Full sizeMethod. Each step is CBO’s FY2026 base budget authority for the bills enacted on that date divided by the four steps’ total of $1,629,606 million; the April 30 step is P.L. 119-86 (DHS except Border Patrol and ICE), and P.L. 119-98 (June 10, Border Patrol and ICE) is reconciliation funding with no base-dollar share, so it is not a step. The 76-day DHS span counts February 14 and April 30 both (RS20348 counts 75 full days, the date difference); the Border Patrol and ICE span to June 10 is 116 days, the date difference (counting both end dates would give 117).
Still unfunded for FY2026. The Administration’s June 24, 2026 supplemental request totals $87.6 billion, including $67.1 billion for the Department of Defense and $11.1 billion for farm aid (OMB, letter to the Speaker, June 24, 2026). CRS wrote on September 30 that Congress was considering whether, and at what scale, to provide war funding (CRS, R49408). The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the request on July 21 (Senate Appropriations Committee, majority news release, July 21, 2026). No source reviewed shows enactment. The $350 billion of mandatory defense resources in the request is also not enacted: the House budget resolution, H.Con.Res. 113, passed 216–214 on July 22 with a $60 billion instruction for the Armed Services Committee (Clerk of the House, roll call 281; GovInfo, H.Con.Res. 113). The latest FEMA Disaster Relief Fund balance was not retrievable.
83. The $87.6B supplemental request is 77% defense
Source. OMB letter to the Speaker (June 24, 2026); CRS R49408
Full sizeMethod. The amounts are from the OMB letter ($87,596,238,000 total, $67.146B defense, $11.1B farm aid); the “other” bar is the total less defense and farm aid.
Options for closing the gap before December 11
The CR passed the Senate 90–6 on August 8 and the House 370–48 under suspension of the rules on September 1 (U.S. Senate, roll call vote 228; Clerk of the House, roll call 286). The four options below differ in scope and timing.
Option 1. One omnibus. Case for. Omnibus measures carried 147 of the 149 regular bills enacted from FY2012 through FY2024, and in seven of those 13 fiscal years one measure carried all full-year appropriations (CRS, IN12324). One vote ends CR limits for every agency. GAO-09-879 found that all six case-study agencies reported inefficiencies under CR limits, mainly delayed hiring and repeated grant and contract actions, and that after prolonged CRs agencies struggled to execute budgets in a shortened timeframe. Earlier omnibus measures often carried extensions of expiring authorities in additional divisions (CRS, IN12324), and authorities expire on December 11 this year (CRS, R49353). The House committee has reported 12 of 12 bills, above the 94.6% that preceded earlier omnibus packages (CRS, IN12324).
Case against. Before earlier omnibus enactments the Senate committee had reported 70.1% of the bills and the Senate had passed 11.5%; for FY2027 both are 0 of 12 (CRS, IN12324 and R49353). The House has passed 3 of 12 (25.0%) against 49.0% in the earlier pattern (CRS, IN12324). The earlier shares are measured when each omnibus was enacted, and the FY2027 counts are a mid-October snapshot taken while the CR still runs, so the comparison is not like for like and overstates how far behind FY2027 is. CRS records the concern that omnibus vehicles reduce debate and amendment, and that 11 of 18 omnibus measures in FY2012 to FY2024 carried unrelated divisions (CRS, IN12324). With no Senate allocation, the two chambers’ toplines have not been compared, and the House committee levels sit $190.0 billion above the CR rate (CBO, estimate for P.L. 119-103 and FY2027 House status report).
84. Senate committee: 0 of 12 now; 70% at past omnibuses
Source. CRS IN12324 (FY2012–FY2024 bills); CRS R49353 (FY2027)
Full sizeMethod. FY2012–FY2024 bars are the shares CRS prints for the 147 regular bills enacted in omnibus measures that had reached each stage (139 House committee, 72 House floor, 103 Senate committee, 17 Senate floor), and FY2027 bars are bills reached divided by 12 (12, 3, 0, 0) as of October 17, 2026. The FY2012–FY2024 shares are measured when each omnibus was enacted, so the two sets of bars are not taken at the same point in the calendar. CRS prints 11.49% for the 17 Senate-floor bills, while 17 of 147 is 11.56%; the bar uses CRS’s figure.
Option 2. Minibuses. Case for. FY2026 was completed in stages: packages of 3, 3 and 5 bills were enacted November 12, January 23 and February 3 (CRS, R48874). The three House-passed bills (12.4% of House-level base dollars) could move first and end CR limits for their agencies, and smaller packages allow agreed bills to be separated from disputed ones (CBO, FY2027 House status report).
Case against. The three largest bills not yet passed by the House (Defense, Labor-HHS-Education and Transportation-HUD) hold 73.0% of House-level base dollars, so early minibuses leave the largest disputes for last (CBO, FY2027 House status report). In FY2026 the five bills that carried 74.4% of base dollars were not enacted until February 3, 125 days after the fiscal year began, and DHS except Border Patrol and ICE finished April 30, while Border Patrol and ICE funding came June 10 in P.L. 119-98 (CRS, R49427, R48874 and R49105). Each package needs Senate floor time, and a CR is still needed for whatever remains.
Option 3. Full-year CR. Case for. It needs no topline agreement and no new bill text. CRS counts four enacted since 2000 (FY2007, FY2011, FY2013, FY2025); the FY2025 act covered all 12 bills and was enacted March 15, 2025 (CRS, R48731). In GAO-22-104701, three selected programs kept operating “without major disruptions” during CRs, using strategies such as exception apportionments. At CBO’s estimate the CR rate is $1,700.9 billion, $190.0 billion below the House committee levels (CBO, estimate for P.L. 119-103 and FY2027 House status report).
Case against. A full-year CR holds the security base near CBO’s $907.9 billion CR estimate, against $1,136.8 billion in the House bills and a $1,154 billion request for function 050 (CBO, estimate for P.L. 119-103 and FY2027 House status report; OMB, FY2027 Budget). CRS notes that full-year CRs enacted in recent decades have not been accompanied by committee reports or explanatory text, have not funded new earmarks, and have usually carried anomalies (CRS, R48731). A full-year version of this CR would have to decide which of its 47 provisions to carry forward (46 under bill headings, counting Section 101(5) twice, and Section 157, which has no bill heading; CRS, R49353).
85. Four full-year CRs since 2000; one covered all 12 bills
Source. CRS R48731, Full-Year Continuing Resolutions: FAQ
Full sizeMethod. Each bar is the number of the fiscal year’s regular bills that a full-year CR covered, as CRS lists them, with the fiscal year’s bill count in the label (9 of 11, 11 of 12, 7 of 12 and 12 of 12); the CSV’s share_pct is the ratio of the two.
Option 4. Another short CR. Case for. CRs were enacted in all but 3 of the 49 fiscal years from FY1977 through FY2025 (CRS, R46595). From FY1998 through FY2025, CRs funded one or more regular bills for an average of 118 days a fiscal year across all CRs combined (range 21 to 216; CRS, R46595). The first CR of a fiscal year from FY2015 through FY2025 has averaged about 68 days (range 48 to 81); this one covers 72 (CRS, R46595 and R49353). In GAO-22-104701, three selected programs managed within CR limits.
Case against. GAO-09-879 found that the effects of CRs depended largely on how many were enacted and how long they lasted, and that after prolonged CR periods agencies struggled to execute their budgets in a shortened timeframe.
86. This CR covers 72 days; first CRs in FY2015–FY2025 averaged 68
Source. CRS R49353 and R46595
Full sizeMethod. 118 days is the annual total across all CRs in a fiscal year (FY1998–FY2025) and is not comparable with one CR; the bars compare the current CR with the first CRs of a fiscal year, FY2015 through FY2025, computed from the R46595 appendix (average 67.7, plotted as 68). CRS’s own sentence puts the average at just over 68 days and the range at 52 to 77; those figures cover FY2015 through FY2023 and omit the 48 days of FY2024 and 81 of FY2025.
What is coming
November 3, 2026. Midterm elections; the CR runs through December 11 (CRS, R49353).
December 11, 2026. The CR and the NFIP authority it extends expire; a funding gap would begin December 12 (CRS, R49353).
Early January 2027. The CR’s coverage of mandatory payments runs to the beginning of January (CRS, R49353).
Supplemental and mandatory defense funding. Neither the $87.6 billion request nor the $350 billion of mandatory defense resources in the budget request is enacted in any source reviewed (OMB, letter of June 24, 2026, and FY2027 Budget; CRS, R49408).
Limitations (11)
- Unverified. CRS’s Appropriations Status Table on Congress.gov could not be retrieved. Bill status was compiled from CRS bill reports, House Appropriations Committee releases, GovInfo, and Clerk of the House and Senate roll calls.
- Unverified. The full list of anomalies the Administration requested, and which were granted. CRS describes the DRF provision and the IRS rescission exclusion as requested.
- Unverified. The latest FEMA Disaster Relief Fund balance; the FEMA monthly report page was not retrievable.
- Coverage. A bill-by-bill FY2027 request on the same basis as the CBO House levels. Exhibit 79 covers six bills for which one CRS table gives the request and the House level on a single basis; Homeland Security has no FY2026 figure on that basis.
- Revisions. Any change after October 13, 2026 in Senate committee scheduling, toplines or the supplemental. The newest sources reviewed are a CRS update of October 13, House Appropriations Committee releases through October 1 and Senate Appropriations Committee releases through September 25. No news report after those dates was checked, so a later change in scheduling, toplines or the supplemental may not be reflected here.
- Unverified. Per-bill CBO scoring of the CR. Row labels in the extracted CBO tables were recovered from table order and cross-checks against published totals and CRS and committee figures, and the CBO documents reviewed do not reconcile the CR rows to FY2026 enacted levels (nonsecurity base differs by $31.9 billion).
- Unverified. Whether any part of the $87.6 billion request is designated as an emergency requirement; the transmittal letter was read for amounts and purposes only.
- Conflicting sources. Source discrepancies resolved toward GovInfo report dates and House Appropriations Committee releases: the Commerce-Justice-Science report number (CRS H.Rept. 119-625, GovInfo 119-652), the Energy-Water committee date (CRS April 22, committee May 20), the Commerce-Justice-Science reported date (May 15, the filing date; markup May 13), the Homeland Security markup date (CRS June 10, committee release June 11), the date of the interim allocation vote (CBO and CRS April 21, committee release April 22) and the length of the first FY2026 lapse (42 days in one CRS report, 43 in another).
- Conflicting sources. DHS lapse figures: CRS reports differ on the length of the lapse to April 30 (75 full days in RS20348; 76 in R49105, which counts both end dates), and RS20348 says P.L. 119-86 excludes Customs and Border Protection and ICE while R49105, R48874 and R49427 say Border Patrol and ICE. This study gives both day counts with their basis, follows the Border Patrol and ICE wording and notes that R49427 says P.L. 119-98 funds all of Customs and Border Protection, which includes Border Patrol. The 116 days for Border Patrol and ICE is the date difference from February 14 to June 10, as R49105 lists it.
- Unverified. GAO findings in Options 1, 3 and 4 are taken from the summaries on GAO’s product pages; the full reports were not retrieved.
- Conflicting sources. Whether the Senate Appropriations Committee has given out informal subcommittee allocations: CRS (September 8) says none were released, and a June 4 Punchbowl News report says the chair has given some out.
Sources (9)
- Congressional Research Service: R49353, Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2027 (Division A of P.L. 119-103), September 17, 2026; R49427, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2027 State of Play, September 30, 2026; R48874, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: FY2026 State of Play, updated June 24, 2026; R49105, Lapses in DHS Appropriations: History and Plans, August 7, 2026; R49343, Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2027 Appropriations, September 10, 2026; R48929, Overview of FY2027 Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS), updated June 23, 2026; R48944, Energy and Water Development: FY2027 Appropriations, updated June 23, 2026; R49292, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: Overview of FY2027 Appropriations, August 24, 2026; R49344, Status of FY2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations: In Brief, September 8, 2026; R49049, Legislative Branch: FY2027 Appropriations, July 30, 2026; R48956, National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs: FY2027 Budget and Appropriations, updated October 13, 2026; R49341, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations for FY2027, September 3, 2026; R49023, FY2027 Defense Budget: Funding for Selected Weapon Systems, updated September 3, 2026; R49408, Overview of Fiscal Spending Projections: FY2027 Budget Cycle, September 30, 2026; R48731, Full-Year Continuing Resolutions: Frequently Asked Questions, November 19, 2025; R46595, Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Practices, updated March 27, 2025; IN12324, Omnibus Appropriations: Overview of Recent Practice, August 14, 2024; RS20348, Federal Funding Gaps: A Brief Overview, updated May 26, 2026
- Congressional Budget Office: Estimate for the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (August 5, 2026); Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriation Legislation, FY2027, House, as of June 25, 2026; Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriation Legislation, FY2026, Senate, as of April 30, 2026 (dated June 9, 2026); An Analysis of Spending Proposals in the President’s 2027 Budget (June 30, 2026), Table 2
- Office of Management and Budget: Budget of the U.S. Government, FY2027 (April 3, 2026), Tables S-2 and S-3; Letter to the Speaker of the House transmitting the supplemental appropriations request, June 24, 2026
- Government Accountability Office: GAO-09-879, Continuing Resolutions: Uncertainty Limited Management Options and Increased Workload in Selected Agencies (September 2009); GAO-22-104701, Federal Budget: Selected Agencies and Programs Used Strategies to Manage Constraints of Continuing Resolutions (June 2022)
- House Appropriations Committee: FY27 markup schedule; FY27 bill text and reports; Committee Approves Numerous FY27 Subcommittee Allocations; committee-approval releases and bill summaries for each FY27 bill
- GovInfo: H.R. 8595, engrossed in the House; H. Con. Res. 113, 119th Congress, engrossed in the House (passed July 22, 2026)
- Clerk of the House: Roll call 175 (2026); Roll call 205; Roll call 247; Roll call 272; Roll call 281 (H.Con.Res. 113); Roll call 286; Roll call votes page (next-session notice)
- U.S. Senate: Roll Call Vote 119-2-228 (August 8, 2026)
- Senate Appropriations Committee: Hearings; Majority News Releases
Read next
- The Federal Funding Calendar, 2026 to 2031
- What Congress Ran On, Tried and Did, 1947–2026 Ten parts on Congress since 1947: fewer, longer laws, separated parties, a moved cloture threshold and thinner committees.
What Congress Ran On, Tried and Did, 1947–2026, part 9 of 10.
Next: Study XVII, The Federal Funding Calendar, 2026 to 2031