07/10/2025

Congress Facing High-stakes Funding Battle in September

Time is not on their side

With the clock ticking toward the Sept. 30 deadline, Congress is staring down a difficult path to fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown — a challenge complicated by partisan divides, stalled legislation, and competing policy priorities.

Despite the fast-approaching end of the fiscal year, little tangible progress has been made on the annual appropriations process. The House has passed just one of the 12 required spending bills for Fiscal Year 2026, while the Senate Appropriations Committee cleared two bills earlier today — a modest step forward, but far from what’s needed to fund the government on time.

Without significant movement in both chambers, a continuing resolution (CR) to temporarily extend current funding levels appears all but inevitable. Republican leaders cannot pass a funding package without at least some Democratic support, yet the two sides remain at odds over major fiscal and policy issues.

The White House has proposed billions in targeted spending cuts, which are strongly opposed by congressional Democrats. Meanwhile, House Republicans have passed a $325 billion package focused on defense and border security funding — included as part of the sweeping tax bill approved along party lines last week.

Adding further strain, the administration and Republican leaders are also pushing a $9 billion rescissions package, which would roll back previously allocated funds. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has warned that advancing the rescissions effort could derail any bipartisan path forward, calling it a major obstacle to reaching consensus.

Time is not on Congress’s side.