Congress Begins FY 2027 Budget Hearings

While Congress continues to grapple with a lapse in funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and President Trump’s push to pass the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), Congressional appropriators have turned their attention to drafting fiscal year (FY) 2027 appropriations legislation. As previously reported, the House Appropriations Committee set deadlines for submitting funding requests for Members earlier this month. Following in the House’s footsteps, the Senate Appropriations Committee released their guidance last week. Deadlines for each subcommittee’s requests can be found here. Congress has also been holding hearings on budget and policy priorities for various departments and agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), despite the continued delay of the President’s annual budget request (see related article). It is still unclear when the request will be released; however, Congress is expected to continue moving ahead with the appropriations process regardless of the President’s timeline.

In other news, the House Republicans returned from their annual retreat last week without having reached a consensus on a second reconciliation bill to address the Administration’s request to significantly increase the Department of Defense’s budget. With the upcoming midterm elections, it’s unlikely any reconciliation bill will gain the traction and support it needs to pass the slim Republican majority on Capitol Hill.

Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage on the appropriations process.