Overview
Early Bird Gets the Worm. While FY26 appropriations negotiations continue to dominate attention on Capitol Hill, planning for FY27 is already well underway within the executive branch. As such, we'll open this week’s report with a timely reminder: starting appropriations work early is one of the most effective ways to position your priorities for success.
The clock is already ticking for the FY27 President’s Budget Request (PBR), the administration's formal statement of policy objectives and the first step in the congressional budget process. Agency “passbacks” with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are already in motion, meaning the window to shape FY27 language in the PBR is narrowing quickly. While Congress often makes changes to the president’s request, having your priorities included in this early blueprint is a powerful way to ensure they are on the radar of key decision-makers and well-positioned for negotiations.
Now is the ideal time for stakeholders with funding or policy goals to engage with agencies and OMB. Our appropriations team understands this process inside and out and stands ready to guide you at each step. From identifying the right contacts to ensuring requests are timed and framed for maximum impact, we can help position your priorities for the strongest chance of success.
With that, let’s move on to our regular programming.
Slow Progress on FY26. Appropriators have made modest gains over the past two weeks, but significant work remains as the January 30th deadline approaches. The House and Senate have agreed to subcommittee allocations for at least five FY26 bills. These agreements do not cover Defense or Labor-HHS, but likely include CJS, FSGG, Interior, T-HUD, and SFOPs.
The Senate continues to work on passing a "minibus" package that has not been negotiated with the House, which could create challenges in the weeks ahead as time runs short. Further, without agreement on unanimous consent, no Senate floor action on appropriations bills is anticipated until lawmakers return in January, leaving the chamber just fifteen legislative days before the next funding deadline.
House cardinals have been empowered to collaborate with their Senate and minority counterparts, aiming to negotiate as much as possible to have bills ready in the queue. However, the House floor largely remains in a holding pattern until the Senate acts, and meaningful progress has yet to materialize on the minibus.
Complicating the path forward, the two chambers have been operating under divergent strategies. Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) has been advocating smaller packages he believes have a better chance of clearing both chambers in December, while the Senate continues pressing for the five-bill minibus which includes DOD and Labor-HHS. Both chambers will need to move in a coordinated fashion to avoid a January 30th CR situation.
Healthcare Impacts. The promised vote on an Affordable Care Act (ACA) extension, slated to occur in the Senate on December 11th, could influence the broader legislative environment. Democratic leadership is proposing a three-year extension of subsidies without income caps, effectively continuing current policy, but this approach faces steep obstacles in both chambers. Some lawmakers have floated a one-year extension paired with targeted reforms as a more viable bipartisan compromise. Fortunately, for now, appropriations leaders have kept ACA negotiations separate from the spending debate.
