Congress races to pass six spending bills before Jan. 27 deadline

Congress set the Jan. 30, 2026, deadline as part of the deal that ended the 43-day government shutdown. That shutdown ran from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, 2025, making it the longest since the 35-day 2018-2019 shutdown. Three bills got full-year funding on Nov. 12: Agriculture, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Legislative Branch. Those three account for less than one-third of annual discretionary spending, leaving the heavy lifting for Jan..

The House passed a three-bill package Jan. 8, 2026, by a 397-28 vote. It funds Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, and Interior-Environment agencies through Sept. 30, 2026. That covers EPA, NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Justice Department, and the FBI. The Senate passed it Jan. 14 by an 83-15 vote. Combined with Nov.'s three bills, that's six of 12 appropriations bills done.

On Jan. 11, leaders released text for another three-bill package: Financial Services-General Government, State-Foreign Operations, and National Security. Financial Services funds the Treasury, IRS, and federal buildings. State-Foreign Operations covers the State Department and USAID. National Security includes intelligence agencies. The House is expected to vote on this package the week of Jan. 13. If it passes, that's nine of 12 bills finished.

Three massive bills remain: Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, and Transportation-HUD. Defense alone is a $900 billion bill funding the Pentagon, military construction, and nuclear weapons programs. Labor-HHS-Education is the biggest domestic spending bill, funding Head Start, child care, NIH, CDC, and the Education Department. Transportation-HUD funds highways, transit, and housing programs. These three bills account for roughly two-thirds of the $1.6 trillion in annual discretionary spending.

House Appropriations Chair TCTom Cole (R-OK) and Senate Appropriations Chair SCSusan Collins (R-ME) announced Dec. 20 they'd agreed on topline allocations for the nine remaining bills. Cole said total funding will be "below the funding level projected in the continuing resolution for FY26." They didn't release specific dollar figures. Negotiators are still fighting over policy riders and agency-level spending. Republicans want to cut domestic programs. Democrats are protecting child care, NIH, and education funding.

The Labor-HHS-Education bill is the most contentious. It funds Head Start, child care block grants, the National Institutes of Health, the CDC, and the entire Education Department. The Senate version passed last summer with modest increases for child care and early learning. House Republicans want deeper cuts. Advocates warn that missing the deadline or passing another continuing resolution would freeze funding at FY 2025 levels, forcing layoffs and program cuts at child care centers and Head Start sites.

The calendar is tight. Congress has a truncated schedule after Jan. 13. The House and Senate aren't in session at the same time for much of the remaining period before Jan. 30. Negotiators could pass the remaining three bills as a single omnibus package, break them into smaller minibuses, or punt with another CR. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told reporters the Jan. 30 deadline will be "difficult" to meet. If they miss it, parts of the government shut down again.