Congress is required by Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution to determine its own pay. In the past, Congress periodically enacted specific legislation to alter its pay; the last time this occurred affected pay in 1991. More recently, pay has been determined pursuant to laws establishing formulas for automatic adj…

The U.S. government supports a broad range of scientific and engineering research and development (R&D). Most of the R&D funded by the federal government is performed in support of the unique missions of individual funding agencies. Using information provided by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding fund…

Congress provided FY2026 appropriations totaling $839.2 billion for certain national defense activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) through the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026 (Division A of P.L. 119-75). (DOD is “using a secondary Department of War designation,” under Executive Order 14347 dated…

This report provides an overview of FY2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations, including relevant congressional actions and a top-line comparison of discretionary funding enacted in FY2026 versus relevant congressional proposals, and prior-year funding for FY202…

The legislative branch appropriations bill provides funding for the Senate; House of Representatives; Joint Items; Capitol Police; Office of Congressional Workplace Rights; Congressional Budget Office (CBO); Architect of the Capitol (AOC); Library of Congress (LOC), including the Congressional Research Service (CRS);…

When federal government agencies and programs lack budget authority after the expiration of either full-year or interim appropriations, they experience a “funding gap,” also known as a lapse in appropriations. In many cases, under the Antideficiency Act (31 U.S.C. §§1341 et seq.), agencies and programs affected by a f…

The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill—often called the Interior bill—contains funding for about three dozen agencies and entities. They include most of the Department of the Interior and certain agencies within other departments, such as the Forest Service (Department of Agriculture) and…

The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program was enacted in 1975 as a federal-state program (established in Title IV-D of the Social Security Act). The primary purpose of this program was to reduce public expenditures for recipients of cash assistance by obtaining ongoing support from noncustodial parents that could be…

The FY2026 Agriculture Appropriations Act (P.L. 119-37, Division B) amends the statutory definition of hemp in 7 U.S.C. §1639o established by the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 farm bill; P.L. 115-334, §10113). The change to the definition—scheduled to go into effect 365 days after the enactment of P.L. 119…

On November 12, 2025, the President signed into law H.R. 5371—the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026—as P.L. 119-37. Division A of the act—the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026—provides continuing appropriations through Jan…

The Department of Defense (DOD), which is “using a secondary Department of War designation” under Executive Order 14347 dated September 5, 2025, operates military construction and family housing programs that fund infrastructure to support military operations and servicemembers around the world. The Trump Administrati…

The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill—often called the Interior bill—contains funding for about three dozen agencies and entities. They include most of the Department of the Interior and agencies within other departments, such as the Forest Service (Department of Agriculture) and the Indi…