Sponsors (22)
The bill keeps benefits flowing and government operations running during funding gaps and clarifies budget treatment, but does so at the cost of reducing Congress's negotiating leverage, increasing administrative complexity, and imposing procedural and travel constraints that can slow oversight and urgent responses.
Low-income people and beneficiaries of entitlement programs (e.g., SNAP and other mandatory payments) continue receiving benefits during funding lapses, avoiding sudden hardship or interruptions.
Federal agencies, state/local governments, grant recipients, contractors, and the public avoid abrupt stoppages because essential programs and services receive short-term continuing funding to maintain operations during gaps.
Taxpayers and budget overseers get clearer budget and enforcement treatment—OMB/CBO baseline rules and deficit‑calculation guidance are clarified—reducing ambiguity when projecting deficits and enforcing limits.
Automatic short-term appropriations weaken Congress's leverage in budget negotiations and can lead to higher near-term outlays and larger deficits by reducing pressure to enact full appropriations on time.
Frequent short (14‑day) increments, changes in apportionment timing, and reclassification for baseline calculations create administrative complexity and recurring workload for agencies, OMB, and CBO, raising costs and increasing uncertainty.
Restrictions on travel and narrow exceptions risk hampering officials' ability to perform official duties—delaying constituent services, oversight, or time‑sensitive regional engagements and potentially stranding officials abroad in some cases.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Creates automatic 14-day continuing appropriations during funding lapses, limits official travel, and restricts certain floor actions while treating the authority as partial-year funding for budget enforcement.
Official title: To provide for a period of continuing appropriations in the event of a lapse in appropriations under the normal appropriations process, to establish procedures and consequences in the event of a failure to enact appropriations, and for other purposes.
Introduced October 31, 2025 by Jodey Cook Arrington · Last progress October 31, 2025
Creates an automatic short-term funding mechanism that keeps federal programs running in 14-calendar-day increments whenever regular appropriations lapse, using prior-year funding rates and authorities until new appropriations or a continuing resolution is enacted. It limits official travel and narrows certain House and Senate floor actions during those automatic funding periods, and instructs budget enforcement rules to treat the automatic authority as partial-year continuing appropriations for deficit-control calculations. The measure aims to avoid government shutdowns by automatically providing the minimum funding needed to continue previously funded programs while imposing procedural limits on travel and some legislative activities during those temporary funding windows. It also specifies how these automatic appropriations are treated under the Budget Enforcement Act for baseline and enforcement calculations.