{"id":7889,"date":"2025-10-01T14:34:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T18:34:51","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-01T14:41:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T18:41:53","slug":"congress-has-long-struggled-to-pass-spending-bills-on-time","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/10\/01\/congress-has-long-struggled-to-pass-spending-bills-on-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress has long struggled to pass spending bills on time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Large chunks of the federal government, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a> to the National Archives<\/a>, are shut down because there\u2019s no money to keep them open, and federal workers are facing possible mass layoffs<\/a>. The new federal fiscal year began on Oct. 1, but Congress didn\u2019t pass any of the dozen annual appropriations bills it\u2019s supposed to enact. Nor did lawmakers pass a stopgap spending law to buy themselves more time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Congress rarely passes all spending bills on time<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
% of stand-alone appropriations legislation enacted on or before Oct. 1 of each fiscal year<\/em><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Note: Although each federal fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, bills enacted by or on Oct. 1 are considered to be “on time.”<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of legislative data from the Congressional Research Service.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Share this chart<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t