Full Breakdown
Congress Faces Split Paths to Fund the Government Before Fiscal Deadline
7/24/2026, 5:05:59 AM
Funding Deadline Looms as Congress Splits Over a Continuing Resolution
Lawmakers are racing to avert a shutdown that would begin when funding expires at the end of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. The House has passed a measure extending funding at existing levels through early December, while the Senate is pursuing a bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) it hopes to bring to a vote before the August recess.
Legislative Background and Recent Shutdowns
The Senate was at the center of two record-breaking shutdowns last year—a 43-day shutdown over health-care tax credits and a 70-day partial shutdown tied to immigration-enforcement reforms. Those disputes have spilled into the current appropriations cycle, with Republicans warning that Democrats could force another shutdown ahead of the November midterms.
Senate and House Strategies
Senate leaders have asked Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Appropriations Committee, to draft a “bipartisan and clean” CR that would fund the government through the election. In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has promoted a GOP-led budget resolution that could unlock a separate reconciliation package, but Senate leaders have signaled they will hold that option in reserve until a CR is secured.
Criticism of Senate Approach
Rep. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), Senate Budget Committee chair, says the Collins draft could reduce the need for a separate reconciliation bill.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It was not a good year on the government funding front, with two record-breaking government shutdowns," Thune said on the Senate floor Wednesday.” — John Thune, Senate Majority Leader
- “I just think everybody's trying to give ourselves room to find a bipartisan agreement, and we are not there yet,” — Brian Schatz, Senator
- “The most important thing that we need to do is to fund the government, and on that front, Chair Susan Collins is working with Democrats on the Appropriations Committee to find a path forward to have a continuing resolution to keep the government funded to get past the November elections so that we don't have the specter of a government shutdown,” — John Thune, Senate Majority Leader
- “If they give us a budget resolution as a vehicle, we will hold that subject to obviously being able to move a continuing resolution to fund the government,” — John Thune, Senate Majority Leader
