Congress did pass a budget for 2026, but not all of it and not on time. Lawmakers enacted full-year funding for 11 of the 12 annual appropriations bills across three separate laws signed between November 2025 and February 2026. The twelfth, covering the Department of Homeland Security, still has not passed, and DHS has been in a partial shutdown since February 13, 2026.
The Three Funding Laws That Cover FY2026
Federal operations are funded through 12 annual appropriations bills, each covering a different slice of government. For Fiscal Year 2026, Congress bundled those bills into three packages rather than passing them individually.1Congress.gov. Appropriations Status Table FY2026
The first law, P.L. 119-37, was signed on November 12, 2025. It provided full-year funding for Agriculture and the FDA, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and the Legislative Branch. It also included a temporary continuing resolution that kept the other nine spending areas running through January 30, 2026.
The second law, P.L. 119-74, was signed on January 23, 2026. It delivered full-year funding for Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water, and Interior-Environment.
The third law, P.L. 119-75, was signed on February 3, 2026. It funded five more areas for the full year: Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, State and Foreign Operations, Transportation-HUD, and Financial Services-General Government. For Homeland Security, it provided only a 10-day extension.
Homeland Security Is the Missing Piece
When the 10-day DHS extension expired on February 13, 2026, the department entered a partial shutdown that was still ongoing as of spring 2026. More than 35,000 DHS employees, including Coast Guard civilians, FEMA staff, and cybersecurity professionals, have gone without regular paychecks during this period.2The White House. Liberating the Department of Homeland Security From the Democrat-Caused Shutdown
Both chambers passed competing DHS funding bills in late March 2026, but the House and Senate had not reached agreement on a final version.1Congress.gov. Appropriations Status Table FY2026
How the Year Got to This Point
Fiscal Year 2026 began on October 1, 2025, with zero appropriations bills enacted. That triggered a full government shutdown affecting every agency funded by discretionary spending. It lasted 43 days, making it the longest government shutdown in modern history. The November 12 package ended it by funding three areas outright and providing a stopgap for the rest.1Congress.gov. Appropriations Status Table FY2026
Congress passed the second package on January 23, a week before that stopgap expired. But lawmakers could not agree on the remaining six bills in time. When the continuing resolution ran out on January 30, 2026, the government entered a second shutdown. It lasted roughly four days before the February 3 law took effect, funding five of the six remaining areas and leaving DHS on a short leash that snapped ten days later.
The July 2025 Reconciliation Law Is a Separate Thing
Alongside the appropriations fights, Congress used a fast-track procedure called budget reconciliation to enact a sweeping fiscal law in 2025. Reconciliation lets the Senate pass certain tax and spending changes with a simple majority, bypassing the 60-vote threshold normally needed to end debate.3Congress.gov. The Reconciliation Process – Frequently Asked Questions
The House adopted its budget resolution (H.Con.Res.14) on February 25, 2025, containing reconciliation instructions that covered tax policy, the debt ceiling, border security, and mandatory spending changes. The Ways and Means Committee alone received instructions allowing up to $4.5 trillion in deficit increases, primarily for extending and expanding tax cuts, paired with a $4 trillion debt limit increase.4Congress.gov. Reconciliation Instructions in the House and Senate FY2025 Budget Resolution
The resulting bill, H.R. 1, became P.L. 119-21 on July 4, 2025. It extended tax cuts, imposed new Medicaid work requirements, raised the federal debt limit, and made changes to programs across multiple federal agencies.5Congress.gov. H.R.1 – 119th Congress (2025-2026) It does not fund day-to-day government operations. Those still depend on the appropriations bills above.
Budget Resolution vs. Appropriations Bills
When people ask whether Congress “passed a budget,” they can mean two very different documents.
A budget resolution is a concurrent resolution adopted by both chambers. It never goes to the President and has no force of law. It sets internal spending targets that tell congressional committees how much they may allocate. If a committee tries to exceed its assigned limit, any member can raise a procedural objection on the floor to block the bill.6Congress.gov. Enforceable Spending Allocations in the Congressional Budget Process
Appropriations bills are full public laws. They pass both chambers, get signed by the President, and grant specific agencies the legal authority to draw money from the Treasury. Without them, agencies have no spending authority and most operations stop. That is why the DHS situation is a shutdown while everything else, funded through the three packages above, continues normally.
What a Continuing Resolution Does
The usual escape valve when appropriations bills are not ready is a continuing resolution, which keeps affected agencies funded temporarily, almost always at the prior year’s spending level. A CR prevents agencies from starting new programs, adjusting staffing levels, or adapting to new priorities. Federal agencies essentially run on autopilot until Congress finishes the real appropriations bills.7U.S. Government Accountability Office. What is a Continuing Resolution and How Does It Impact Government Operations
Two of the three FY2026 laws included CRs for the agencies not yet funded: the November law’s CR ran through January 30, and the February law’s CR for DHS ran only 10 days. When a CR expires without a replacement, the agencies it covered enter a shutdown.
The Debt Ceiling Is a Separate Question
Appropriations determine whether agencies can operate. The debt ceiling determines whether the Treasury can borrow money to pay obligations Congress has already authorized. These are distinct issues. The statutory debt limit stood at $36.1 trillion when it was reached on January 1, 2025. The reconciliation law enacted in July 2025 raised that limit to $40.1 trillion.8U.S. Department of the Treasury. Debt Limit
Estimates suggest the $40.1 trillion limit could be reached by late 2026, at which point the Treasury would begin using “extraordinary measures,” accounting maneuvers that temporarily free up borrowing capacity. Those measures could extend the deadline into spring 2027 before running out.
The debt limit does not authorize any new spending. It allows the Treasury to pay for commitments Congress has already made, including Social Security payments, military salaries, interest on existing debt, and tax refunds.8U.S. Department of the Treasury. Debt Limit