Congress Punts FY2027 Budget to December, Leaves Senate Appropriations Stalled

WASHINGTON -- Congress has bought itself until Dec. 11 to finish the fiscal year 2027 budget, but the Senate hasn't passed a single full appropriations bill, and skeptics on both sides of the aisle aren't sure it'll get done before the new year.

President Donald Trump signed the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 into law on Sept. 2, according to a summary reviewed by NASFAA. <cite index="19-3">Trump signed the continuing resolution into law on September 2, extending government funding through December 11 while Congress finalizes FY 2027 appropriations.</cite>

The path there was anything but smooth. <cite index="21-1,21-2">The House narrowly passed an earlier version of the CR on largely partisan lines, 220-205, on July 21 to fund the government through December 4. The Senate made substantial changes, passing its version on a bipartisan vote of 90-6 on August 8 to keep the government open through December 11.</cite> The House then cleared the Senate's version. <cite index="19-1">The House cleared the Senate's continuing resolution to fund the government through December 11 by a vote of 370-48.</cite>

The urgency was real. <cite index="21-5">House and Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle decided back in July to get an early start on crafting a CR to avoid another crippling 43-day shutdown like last year's, the longest in history.</cite>

<cite index="9-4">The CR funds most programs and activities at the FY2026 levels, with several exceptions that provide funding flexibility or additional appropriations for various programs.</cite> <cite index="12-5">Crucial programs extended in their current form include SNAP, WIC, TANF, National Flood Insurance, wildfire suppression efforts, the disaster relief fund, and small business support.</cite>

House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., defended the measure as responsible governance. <cite index="17-4,17-5">Cole said, "Too many members in Congress mistake a cliff's edge for political leverage -- and this bill refuses to reward those who depend on obstruction and chaos. Instead, it puts certainty and stability for the nation first."</cite>

The Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has not reported out a single FY27 spending bill. <cite index="23-3">Of all 12 FY2027 appropriations bills, the House has passed three and the Senate has passed zero, leaving 87 days until funding runs out on Dec. 11, 2026.</cite>

<cite index="3-7">The extended absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell has added a further complication, leaving Republicans without a functional majority on the full Senate Appropriations Committee.</cite> McConnell's return to the Capitol, reported this week, could change that calculus. <cite index="22-5,22-6,22-7">His anticipated return is one development worth watching. Rep. James Comer said he has been in contact with McConnell's staff, who indicated the goal is for the senator to return when the Senate reconvened the week of September 14. His return, along with Sen. Darlene Graham's appointment to the Senate Appropriations Committee, would give Chair Collins an opportunity to revive a Senate appropriations process that has largely stalled.</cite>

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., was blunt about the odds of finishing on time. <cite index="27-9,27-10">"Us having a budget done by December 11 -- it takes on whiffs of frozen hell and donkeys flying," Kennedy told reporters. "I mean, it's probably not going to happen."</cite>

The Dec. 11 deadline falls 38 days after the November midterm elections, compressing whatever lame-duck window Congress would have to act. <cite index="22-9,22-10">The most consequential appropriations question is no longer whether Congress will shut down in October. It's whether Congress intends to complete its FY 2027 appropriations work before the new Congress is seated in January.</cite>

<cite index="22-11,22-12,22-13">On one path, House and Senate negotiators spend the fall resolving differences and clear the remaining bills during a lame-duck session. On the other, lawmakers continue relying on short-term funding while carrying unfinished appropriations bills into the new year -- a scenario that would extend uncertainty for agencies, contractors, grant recipients, and nearly everyone dependent on federal funding decisions.</cite>

<cite index="3-4">House Appropriations Chair Cole and ranking member Rosa DeLauro said they wanted to wrap the FY27 bills up when Congress returns after the November elections.</cite> That leaves the full weight of any deal on a post-election session that hasn't started yet.

Sources cited:
- NASFAA (https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/39735/House_Passes_Continuing_Resolution_Funding_Government_Through_December_11)
- SpacePolicyOnline.com (https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/house-clears-fy2027-cr-now-to-the-president/)
- Akin Gump / The Approps Drop (https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/blogs/the-approps-drop/washingtons-new-deadline-a-longer-road-for-the-same-can)
- Approps.ai (https://approps.ai/)
- NCSD Federal Policy Update (https://ncsddc.org/federal-policy-update-september-4-2026/)
- House Appropriations Committee (Republicans) (https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-passes-hr-9770-providing-certainty-preventing-disruption-and-advancing)
- NBC News / MS Now (https://www.ms.now/news/senators-sidestep-one-shutdown-fight-government-funding)
- Congress.gov, H.R.9770 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9770)