The Senate’s approval of a stopgap funding bill could give lawmakers time to resolve major differences over Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration fiscal 2027 budget requests, including a proposed 35% increase for nuclear weapons activities.
The Senate voted 90-6 Aug. 8 to approve a continuing resolution (CR) funding the government through Dec. 11, pushing the next major appropriations deadline beyond the Sept. 30 end of fiscal 2026. Since the House already passed a separate CR to fund the government through Dec. 4, both chambers will have to reconcile the different versions and pass a new version to send to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The Senators that voted against the stopgap bill are Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
A CR would generally maintain existing funding levels while Congress negotiates full-year appropriations to avoid the government running out of money and shutting down, but potentially delaying new fiscal 2027 initiatives and increases.
For NNSA, the additional time comes as Congress considers an administration request totaling about $32.8 billion for fiscal 2027. That includes $27.44 billion for Weapons Activities, a $7.06 billion, or 34.7%, increase over fiscal 2026 enacted funding. The request also includes $2.39 billion for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, $2.39 billion for Naval Reactors and $577.1 million for Federal Salaries and Expenses.