The CR Isn’t the Only September 30 Deadline We Should Be Watching

When Congress returns in September, they will have a full plate of issues that must be worked on before the end of the fiscal year on September 30. As is tradition during an election year, Congress will likely vote on what needs to get done immediately (the CR and a few other bills) and head home for all of October to campaign. That means that, besides the CR, there is unlikely to be much movement on must-pass bills until the lame duck.

Last year, the omnibus package extended over 100 authorities through FY26. That means these must all be contended with this year. A few of the big ones include:

The Farm Bill. Now in its fourth year of extensions, the Senate must move a bill out of committee to negotiate against the House version.

Surface Transportation. The last version of this authorization of all Department of Transportation programs was the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. While the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee passed a bill out of committee, the Senate is yet to release its version.

National Flood Insurance Program. This program lapses periodically and is always an interesting fight to watch since the camps are more based on geography than party.

Along with these bigger programs, the omnibus included many smaller authorities that must be addressed to avoid lapsing. While Congress is likely to get out of town before addressing these programs, the CR won’t be the only bill that needs to be done before September 30.