The appropriations story, written out

Sep 28, 2026

The $810 Million Pocket Rescission, Line by Line

Five days before the fiscal year ended, the White House asked Congress to cancel money it had already approved. Here is every item, why the timing matters, and what happens next.

Touches: Labor-HHS · Homeland Security · CJS · T-HUD · National Security-State

Sep 1, 2026

The House Folds, as Expected: the December 11 Stopgap Heads to the President

The House passed the Senate's continuing resolution 370-48 under suspension of the rules, and the President signed it September 2, locking in the December 11 cliff. What passed, how the vote broke, and what the lame duck now looks like.

Aug 28, 2026

The House Will Vote Tuesday, and the Rule They Chose Tells You Everything

House leadership will bring the Senate's stopgap to the floor Tuesday under suspension of the rules, which caps debate at 40 minutes, bars amendments, and requires two thirds. With roughly 220 Republican seats, that math cannot work without a large bloc of Democrats. Why the Speaker would choose the harder threshold, and what it means for the twelve FY2027 bills.

Aug 25, 2026

Senate FY27 Appropriations: What to Expect From Every Subcommittee When the Bills Drop

The Senate's FY2027 spending bills and their project tables could post within weeks. What each of the twelve subcommittees' earmark lists usually looks like, by the numbers from the last enacted round, how to check on your project before the tables appear, and the one scenario that would erase the lists entirely.

Aug 17, 2026

The Most Watched Money in Washington: How Earmarks Became the Budget's Most Accountable Dollars

Earmarks were once the most mocked spending in America. After the scandals, the ban, and a decade of backdoor earmarking, they came back in 2021 with public requests, financial-interest certifications, a 1% cap, and GAO audits. The case that the budget's most ridiculed line items are now its most watched.

Aug 3, 2026

The Senate's stopgap, explained: the 89-4 vote, the road to the President's desk, and what really happens on December 11

The Senate passed the bipartisan continuing resolution 90-6, funding the government through December 11. What is in the bill, why it is on a glide path to a signature, and the stacked-up December cliff the vote just scheduled.

Touches: Defense · Agriculture-FDA · Homeland Security · CJS · T-HUD · Energy-Water · FSGG

Jul 9, 2026

The FY2027 appropriations outlook: three ways the funding fight ends

The House has moved all twelve bills and passed two. The Senate has not held a markup. With the September 30 deadline under three months out, the cycle ends one of three ways.

Touches: Defense · Agriculture-FDA · MilCon-VA

Jul 9, 2026

Earmarks are back: inside the $15.5 billion in FY2026 community project funding

Congress calls them Community Project Funding and Congressionally Directed Spending. They are earmarks, more than 8,300 of them in FY2026, and every one is searchable here.

Touches: Agriculture-FDA · MilCon-VA

Evergreen · The standing explainer

How the money moves: the appropriations process in plain language

The power of the purse, the twelve bills, 302(a) and 302(b) allocations, markups, conference, and what happens when Congress runs late. Start here if the tracker is new to you.