Congress Avoids Government Shutdown Ahead of Midterms

Featured Congress Avoids Government Shutdown Ahead of Midterms Written by: Space Foundation Insights Team Congress avoided an Oct. 1 government shutdown as the U.S. House approved a continuing resolution (CR) Tuesday. The measure ensures government funding through Dec. 11. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the measure into law. House members gave bipartisan approval with a 370-48 vote. The Senate approved the agreement last month. The temporary budget bill will keep key space programs running. That includes NASA’s planned 2027 Artemis III mission to test equipment ahead of a later lunar landing. The CR also funds Pentagon space efforts. The CR could slow the development of new systems envisioned in the Space Force’s larger 2027 spending plan. Under the agreement, funding is held at 2025 spending levels. Expect Budget Bargaining After Midterms House Appropriations Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla, praised the continuing resolution. “We bought the time that we need to get through the election cycle and hopefully the time that we need to get down to serious bargaining on the other side of it,” he said. The chairman expressed concern that continued budget gridlock could bring a repeat of 2025. That year, lawmakers used a yearlong continuing resolution to keep agencies running with budgets at 2024 levels. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., also spoke in support of the continuing resolution and cited the upcoming launch of NOAA satellites as one reason to support the measure. Pentagon Space Spending Poised to Jump in FY27 The Pentagon’s 2027 request would double spending on space programs. It delivers an estimated $126 billion for military and intelligence community funding, up from an estimated $63 billion in 2026. House and Senate committees approved the budget increase, but the spending plan stalled in the Senate. The Pentagon’s 2027 space plans include 31 orbital launches, development of a satellite constellation to track moving targets, and an additional $1.5 billion for commercial programs, including SpaceX’s Starshield communications constellation. The procurement budget for the Space Force was poised to grow from $4.2 billion to $19.2 billion.