House Passes Stopgap Spending Bill, Sending Shutdown Fight to Senate

The House passed a bill funding the government at current levels until December 4, 2026, in an effort to stave off a shutdown before the last minute.

The bill passed by a vote of 220-205 with six Democrats voting for the bill. 

House Republicans opted for a stopgap funding bill after acknowledging Congress will not complete all 12 annual appropriations bills before the September 30 deadline. The House has passed just three full-year spending bills, while the Senate has yet to approve any and has not reached an overall spending agreement.

“The hard reality before us is straightforward — the fiscal year deadline is outpacing the work that remains,” said Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK). “This clean, short-term continuing resolution simply keeps the government open, protects the progress we’ve made, and preserves the path to full-year appropriations.”

House Republicans say the stopgap will keep the government open through the midterm elections and give Congress time to work on full-year spending bills.

The bill’s prospects in the Senate are uncertain as some Democratic support would be needed to get to 60 votes to advance the measure.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said that Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) is working with Democrats to "find a path forward."

House Democrats criticized both the process and the legislation, arguing they were given little time to review the proposal before the vote.

"We are scrambling to jam through a one-sided stopgap measure two days before everyone leaves for the August recess,” stated Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).

Automatic Stopgap Bill

Meanwhile, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) is pushing a bill that would effectively end the risk of shutdowns, by providing for an automatic stopgap spending measure when a funding lapse is about to occur.

The bill would automatically extend funding for 14 days at a time while lawmakers try to reach a full-year deal.

It also requires members of Congress to stay in Washington during a funding lapse.

“We have a quorum call every day. We cannot go into recess for more than 23 hours, so it requires everybody to be here,” said Sen. Lankford as he testified before the House Appropriations Committee on ways to reduce government shutdowns.

Another witness– former Biden Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young– warned against relying on stopgaps.

Young told members that federal agencies “can’t make big decisions until full-year bills are done,” and that means that “the Army, Navy can’t go into long-term procurements on new things.”