Update: The Senate adopted the continuing resolution on August 8.
Fiscal year (FY) 2026 started with the longest government-wide shutdown on record, lasting 43 days. (The Department of Homeland Security [DHS] was shut down for several additional months.) The period was marked by extreme uncertainty, with agency contingency plans largely outdated or unavailable.
The desire to avoid a similar situation in FY 2027, augmented by the preference to avoid a government shutdown in an election year, is manifesting in an earlier-than-usual adoption of a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through the 2026 midterm elections.
In late July, the House passed a CR (H.R. 9770) to fund the government at FY 2026 levels through December 4. The Senate has since released its own CR (available here) to extend funding through December 11. The Senate bill includes a number of funding exceptions, or “anomalies,” identified by the White House that were not in the House CR. Additionally, the Senate CR would:
- Delay, through December 11, finalization or implementation of a recently proposed Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rule that would significantly alter the award and administration of federal grants.
- Extend, through December 11, funding for highway and transit programs under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This extension of contract authority from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) would not extend IIJA advance appropriations. The House CR does not address this funding.
If the Senate CR passes, the House will not take it up until members return from the August recess. Reporting indicates that House appropriators were involved in crafting the Senate CR, so there is reason to believe that the bill would pass in the House. This brief summarizes the two CRs and differences between them.