Before leaving for an extended August recess both the House and the Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government operating past the September 30 end of FY 2026. Congress wanted to get this issue off their plates before heading home to campaign for the midterm elections. A CR was necessary because while all 12 annual appropriations bills have been reported out of committee, and three bills were subsequently passed by the full House, the Senate has not moved forward on any of these measures.
Differences in approved bills, however, necessitate action to finalize a CR which will be done the first weeks of September. The easiest difference to resolve should be the date of the extension. The House picked December 4 while the Senate bill extends until December 11, both after the November 3 midterm elections.
Of importance to LICA members, the Senate's CR provides highway construction appropriations at the current year's level and keeps unobligated funds in discretionary grant programs from expiring through FY 2027. The Senate also provides authorization for the highway program so that there is no lapse in funding when the current authorization expires on September 30. The House bill cuts current funding levels and does not provide the extended authorization.
Both the Senate and House bills also provide Clean and Drinking Water SRF funds at current appropriated levels but do not provide the additional boost in funds to these programs provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This extra funding, and a multiyear authorization for the water fund SRFs, will have to be addressed in separate legislation next year.
An additional difference in the two bills has to do with the authority of the President to withhold or cancel grant funding for programs and projects that has already been approved and awarded. The Senate would prevent the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from finalizing a rule to allow this to happen. The House did not take any action on this issue.