The federal government's current budget year ends on September 30, and Congress has about a month to decide how to keep agencies funded past that date.
This has already been an unusually disruptive year on the budget front. The federal government experienced two separate funding lapses in 2026: a brief four day shutdown from January 31 to February 3, and a much longer one that ran from February 14 to April 30, lasting 76 days. That second lapse was one of the longest funding gaps in the country's history, and it left agencies and federal workers dealing with weeks of uncertainty before funding was restored.
With the fiscal year now set to close at the end of September, lawmakers are once again negotiating spending bills to keep the government open. Some in Congress have started to talk more broadly about whether the current system, where funding can lapse entirely if a deal is not reached in time, still makes sense. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said publicly that lawmakers, not the public, will bear responsibility if another shutdown happens after September 30.
For most people, a funding lapse mainly shows up as delays: national parks with reduced staff, slower processing at some federal offices, and paused pay for furloughed workers until funding is restored. Given how long the spring shutdown lasted, both parties in Congress have an incentive to avoid a repeat as the midterm election year continues.
Watch for movement on spending bills in the House and Senate over the next few weeks, and for any signals from congressional leaders about whether a short term funding patch, a full year deal, or another lapse is most likely by September 30.
Why does government funding expire on a set date?
Congress funds federal agencies through annual appropriations bills, and if new funding or a stopgap measure is not passed before the fiscal year ends on September 30, agencies without funding must partially shut down.
How long was the longest shutdown this year?
The second 2026 shutdown ran 76 days, from February 14 to April 30, making it one of the longest in U.S. history.