MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The U.S. Senate released the text of a bipartisan continuing resolution on Monday, August 3, 2026 that would fund the federal government through Friday, December 11, 2026, and held a first procedural vote the same day, according to the Deseret News.
The measure, led by Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, and Sen. Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, extends current funding levels past the November midterm elections and buys Congress time to finish full-year appropriations bills. Current funding expires Tuesday, September 30, 2026. The Senate version runs one week longer than the House version.
Beyond keeping the government open, the text carries provisions with direct consequences for local governments. According to the Deseret News, the bill includes administration funding requests for food assistance, disaster relief, and rental and homelessness assistance, and it prevents an Office of Management and Budget rule that would have required federal grants to receive approval from senior political appointees before award. It also includes guardrail language blocking Border Patrol funding transfers beyond approved amounts and extends highway, rail, and transit funding through September 30.
"This CR is a major step toward averting a damaging shutdown that only harms vital programs and federal workers," Collins said, per the Deseret News. Final Senate passage is expected before the August recess, after which the measure goes to the House and then to the president.
Why It Matters for Memphis
Three mechanisms, not vibes. First, the blocked OMB rule: Memphis, Shelby County, MSCS, and MATA collectively apply for and draw down federal grants across housing, transit, public safety, and education, and a political-appointee approval gate would have inserted a discretionary chokepoint into every one of those awards. Second, the rental and homelessness assistance and food assistance funding flows through programs that Shelby County agencies and nonprofits administer locally. Third, the transportation extension keeps the highway and transit formula money that MATA and the city draw on flowing while Congress works on full-year bills.
The Oversight Question
A continuing resolution is Congress deciding not to decide, at declared funding levels, for a declared period. The December 11 date puts the real appropriations fight after the midterms, which means the spending choices that will shape federal FY2027, the fiscal year that begins October 1, 2026, will be made by a Congress whose composition voters choose first. The receipts to keep are the bill text and each chamber's vote.