Legislative Services

Appropriations and Shutdown Deadline

The House has advanced all 12 appropriations bills through committee, but floor action has stalled after procedural votes over Senate inaction on the SAVE Act. The Senate has not reached a topline defense/nondefense agreement or released bill text. With few session weeks left before November’s midterm elections, Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through December.

Reauthorizations

• Surface transportation reauthorization has been passed out of House committee, but it has not received a vote by the full chamber; the Senate has yet to act. A short-term extension is likely.
• Farm Bill 2.0: House and Senate gaps remain on pesticide labeling and SNAP financing. While Congress could approve a new farm bill before Sept. 30, another short-term extension appears more likely.
• Energy permitting reform: Bipartisan support exists for streamlining the regulatory process, but the open question is whether both sides can reach agreement on this legislation.

Significant Floor Measures 

H.R. 9770 — Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027
Status: Passed the House on July 21.
A clean stopgap funding the government at FY2026 rates through Dec. 4, with no new program starting. A handful of provisions matter directly for counties: The measure would extend the National Flood Insurance Program and the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund past their Sept. 30 expiration dates. It also would reopen the agricultural disaster assistance window to cover loss years through 2026. Mandatory programs, including SNAP, WIC and entitlements, would continue at levels needed to maintain participation.

H.R. 9368 — Voter ID Act
Status: Bundled as an amendment into H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act.
The proposal would amend the Help America Vote Act to require photo ID to cast a ballot in federal elections both in person and by mail. The administrative burden would land squarely on county election offices: verifying ID at the polls, managing provisional ballots with a three-day cure window, checking mail-ballot ID or affidavits, notifying registrants of the new rules and providing free public access to copiers so voters can duplicate an ID. A companion grant program would reimburse states that issue free IDs. If enacted, the requirements would take effect 90 days after the law is signed.

FY27 Community Funding Snapshot
Texas counties have secured 91 Community Project Funding requests totaling $97.7 million, sponsored by 28 members of the Texas congressional delegation. These figures remain projections pending final FY27 bills, but they map the local investments in play. Breakdown by bill: