WASHINGTON — The House has passed a funding stopgap bill that would extend federal funding to Dec. 11, preventing a government shutdown as Congress heads toward midterm elections.
Members voted 370-48 to pass the continuing resolution today, easily obtaining the two-thirds majority necessary to fast track the bill under a suspension of the rules.
The bill originated in the Senate through a bipartisan deal, with the upper chamber passing it in August. It now goes to the desk of President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.
For the Defense Department, the CR ensures that current weapons programs can be funded at fiscal 2026 levels, and prevents a situation where civilians are furloughed and troops must work without pay.
“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 Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said today during a speech on the House floor.
“The bill protects our national security, providing funding for our armed forces and security agencies, as well as crucial authorities for core research and development programs to ensure our military remains the best armed and equipped services in the world,” he added.
During a press conference this morning, Rep. Pete Aguilar, the House Democratic Caucus chair, said he projected “broad bipartisan support” for the bill. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, encouraged members to vote yes on the CR during a caucus meeting that morning, he said.
Rep. Betty McCollum, ranking member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, praised the bill for its exclusion of Iran war funding.
“I am very proud that this bill for the CR does not have funding that the president requested in his supplemental for the war in Iran, which was his war of choice,” she said on the House floor ahead of passage.
The bill also does not include most of the anomalies — or special funding exemptions — requested by the White House on behalf of the Pentagon. That list of unfunded anomalies includes:
- $1 billion for the Trump-class battleship, which was needed to begin advanced procurement of the nuclear propulsion system, the White House said in a list of anomalies provided to Congress.
- A request for language that would have allowed the Pentagon to obligate funding for five key munitions programs: the Patriot system’s PAC-3 interceptor, Tomahawk cruise missile, AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, and two different Standard Missile-3 variants. The White House had warned the department “may incur cancellation liabilities on multi-year procurement contracts if it does not order the negotiated production quantities.”
- A request for language that would have exempted funding granted in last year’s reconciliation bill from sequestration, or automatic spending cuts. Without the exemption, the White House said about 8 percent of the unobligated reconciliation funds would be made unavailable when the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.
Instead, the bill includes boilerplate language common in most CRs that prohibits using funding to start new programs or multiyear contracts.