Senate passes stopgap funding bill 90-6 to avert October shutdown

The Senate on Aug. 8, 2026, passed H.R. 6500, a stopgap spending measure, by a vote of 90-6, with one senator voting present and three not voting. Passage required a three-fifths majority, which the bill cleared comfortably.

Senators used the bill as a vehicle for a continuing resolution: they struck the House-passed text of H.R. 6500 — originally the AGOA Extension Act, a trade measure — and inserted the "Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027" in its place.

The measure provides continuing appropriations for federal agencies for fiscal year 2027 through the earlier of Dec. 11, 2026, or enactment of the applicable full-year appropriations acts. As a continuing resolution, it is designed to prevent a government shutdown that would otherwise occur if the FY2027 appropriations bills have not been enacted when the fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, 2026.

The bill funds most programs and activities at fiscal 2026 levels, with several exceptions that provide added funding or flexibility — including for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Small Business Administration loans; the Disaster Relief Fund; the Indian Health Service; the Department of Justice; and wildfire suppression activities. It also extends a range of expiring authorizations, including programs related to agriculture, flood insurance, cybersecurity, surface transportation, veterans benefits, housing, defense production, and trade preferences for Haiti and certain countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Because the Senate amended the bill, it now returns to the House, which must agree to the Senate's changes before the measure can go to the President.