Congress returns next week from a month-long recess break with a full schedule for the Fall, including annual appropriations, the Farm Bill, and other items.
The House and Senate both recessed in late July and have spent August away from Washington. Both chambers are set to return on Tuesday, September 2, with a busy to-do list.
Annual government funding is set to expire on October 1, leaving just one month to pass FY2026 Appropriations. As of now, only one of 12 appropriations bills has passed both chambers. The House has passed two of its 12 individual bills, while the Senate has passed three of its 12. Typically, separate bills are combined into “minibuses” or one “omnibus” and passed by both chambers.
Additionally, Congress is due to pass a new version of the Farm Bill. The last Farm Bill was passed in 2018, which set USDA policy for five years. Last Congress, the House passed its version of the Farm Bill, but that version expired at the end of the 118th Congress. The Senate has not passed a draft Farm Bill. The current Farm Bill is set to expire at the end of the 2025 fiscal year, following multiple extensions passed by Congress.
