Congress this week failed to find the votes to extend government funding, with one last vote planned for Friday before recessing for the weekend.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said the Senate will vote once more on Friday on a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would cleanly extend government funding through November 21. The vote is expected around 1:30 pm EST.
The current standoff centers around seven votes. The GOP currently controls 53 seats in the Senate, and government funding measures require 60 votes for passage.
The Senate held multiple votes this week, steadily gaining Democrat votes but failed to reach the 60 required. Most recently, the Senate voted 55-45 in favor of passing an extension, with Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Angus King (I-ME) joined 52 Republicans, while Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) voted no.
The House recently passed an extension to November 21 and stands in recess until at least next week.
USDA earlier this week posted its FY26 “Lapse in Funding Plan” detailing agency operations during a government shutdown. In it, FSIS confirmed meat and poultry inspection will continue uninterrupted. In addition, AMS grading services should continue as scheduled as they, too, are considered essential employees.
According to the plan: “FSIS will continue to perform mission essential food safety operations required to protect life and property, including statutorily required inspection of meat, poultry, and egg products, investigations necessary to protect public health (outbreaks, recalls, etc.) , laboratory work essential to identifying public health concerns and threats, emergency preparedness, and minimum levels of other support functions necessary to maintain these activities. Additionally, mandatory administrative work related to the shutdown will also continue. These activities are necessarily implied (Category III) and are necessary to protect life and property (Category V).”
In comments submitted in response to the “Department of Agriculture Reorganization Plan” released on July 24, 2025, NCC voiced for support the Department’s goal of optimizing the effectiveness of its functional areas, eliminating redundancy, and providing cost savings for Americans. “We commend Secretary Rollins and her team for reevaluating the current Department structure to ensure efficient use of resources, preserve public safety, maintain critical oversight services provided by the Department, and minimize duplicative management layers,” noted Ashley Peterson, Ph.D., NCC SVP of scientific and regulatory affairs in the comments.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has finalized amendments to the regulations governing the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). These changes were voted on and approved by industry delegates during the NPIP’s 2022 National Plan Conference and are designed to strengthen biosecurity, clarify requirements, and align the Plan with current industry practices.
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