OVERVIEW
Throughout July, the Senate Committee on Appropriations ramped up their advancement of fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills, advancing eight of their 12 appropriations bills out of the full committee. In the lower chamber, the House advanced five of their FY2026 bills out of the full committee—Commerce, Energy, Interior, State and Transportation—sending them to the House floor for consideration. The House previously advanced five other bills out of the full committee and two on the House floor, as reflected in the table below. On Aug. 1, the Senate passed its first three-bill minibus containing Agriculture-FDA, Legislative Branch and Military Construction bills.
Over half of the appropriations bills have been considered in both chambers; however, Senate bill text for Energy, Financial Services, Homeland Security and State appropriations bills have yet to be released in addition to being scheduled for markups. On the House side, 10 appropriations bills have been considered in the full committee, with the exception of the Commerce, Financial Services and Labor-HHS bills.
The below chart provides an overview of the House and Senate bill text, the committee markup schedule and the current status of the 12 appropriations bills.
LOOKING FORWARD
The Senate and House have now adjourned for the August recess and will return on Sept. 2. Upon returning, members will have less than a month and roughly 14 legislative days for the House and the Senate to pass and reconcile all 12 appropriations bills. This remains highly unlikely as vast differences remain between the House and Senate versions. It is increasingly likely another continuing resolution (CR) will be necessary to avoid a government shutdown on Sept. 30.
