The Dec. 11 funding deadline, explained: what the stopgap law covers and what happens if it runs out

Congress enacted a stopgap before the federal fiscal year began on October 1: the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500, Public Law 119-103), approved September 2, 2026. Its main deadline is December 11, 2026, the date in section 106(3).

What the law does

Section 101 lets agencies keep spending at the rate set in 12 listed fiscal 2026 appropriations laws, or divisions of laws, under the same conditions. They cover agriculture, commerce and justice, defense, energy and water, financial services, homeland security, the interior, labor, health and education, the legislative branch, military construction and veterans affairs, national security and State, and transportation and housing.

Under Section 106, that money is available until the earliest of three things:

1. Congress passes an appropriation for the specific project or activity.
2. Congress passes the full-year fiscal 2027 bill for that area without funding the activity.
3. December 11, 2026.

So the deadline can come early for individual programs if Congress passes full-year bills before then.

What it limits, and what keeps going

Section 102 bars the Defense Department from using this money for new production of items not funded for production in fiscal 2026 or earlier, for raising production rates above those sustained with fiscal 2026 funds, or for starting projects that had no funding in fiscal 2026. It also bars starting multiyear procurements that use advance procurement funding, unless specifically appropriated later. Section 104 bars starting or resuming any activity that had no funding in fiscal 2026.

Some programs get extra protection. Section 111(a) continues entitlements and other mandatory payments whose budget authority was provided in fiscal 2026 appropriations acts, and activities under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which includes the SNAP food assistance program, "at the rate to maintain program levels under current law," through the section 106(3) date. Section 117 allows WIC, the nutrition program for women, infants and children, to be funded at the rate needed to keep current participation. Section 139 extends the National Flood Insurance Program's key authorities to the same December 11 date.

More than spending: the extensions

The law isn't only appropriations. Divisions B through D extend a range of programs and authorities that would otherwise have lapsed. Many of them run to December 11 as well, including the Defense Production Act (section 2004), the Toxic Substances Control Act fee authority (section 2005), the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (section 2011), the Patent and Trademark Office's fee-setting authority (section 2015), several Veterans Affairs authorities (Division D), and federal surface transportation programs, whose "extension end date" is defined as December 11, 2026 (Division C, section 3002). Not every extension is tied to that date. The same division pushes the African Growth and Opportunity Act provisions it amends to 2028 and the customs user fee provision it amends to March 31, 2032. Section 2019 also delays part of the 2025 federal hemp definition to December 11. We did not check every extension in the law, so this list is not complete.

What a lapse means

If neither full-year bills nor another stopgap passes by December 11, agencies whose funding has run out are in a funding gap. Federal law limits what they can do then. Under 31 U.S.C. 1342, officials may not accept voluntary services or employ personal services beyond what the law authorizes, except in "emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property." The statute says that exception doesn't cover ongoing, regular functions whose suspension wouldn't imminently threaten life or property.

Section 111(b) adds that mandatory payments due on or about the first day of any month that begins after October 2026, but not later than 30 days after December 11, may continue to be made. Whether any payments or services continue after a lapse depends on how each program is funded, which this explainer doesn't cover.

What to watch

Under section 106, Congress can pass full-year appropriations for individual areas before December 11, pass another stopgap, or a mix of both. This explainer does not report on negotiations or the status of fiscal 2027 bills. We'll update it as votes are scheduled.

Sources

• Public Law 119-103, Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (PDF, govinfo)
• 31 U.S.C. 1342 (Cornell LII)

Drafted with AI assistance from primary sources. Written and edited by The Whole Read newsroom under Monsaur Othman's editorial standards. Read how we use AI, our editorial policy and our corrections policy.