The Federal Fiscal Year expired at midnight on September 30 and without action from Congress, a partial government shutdown is in effect.
Recently, the House voted 217-212 in favor of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2026, which extends government funding at current levels through November 21. The Senate, which requires 60 votes, rejected the legislation by a vote of 44-48. Additional votes on this legislation in the Senate have not changed the results.
Many federal government agencies and programs rely on annual funding appropriations passed by Congress. Each year, Congress must pass, and the President must sign budget legislation for the next fiscal year consisting of 12 appropriations bills.
In a shutdown, federal agencies must discontinue all non-essential discretionary functions until new funding legislation is passed and signed into law.
Essential services will continue to function along with mandatory spending programs. The Executive Branch has wide latitude during a partial shutdown. When more information becomes available, we will share it.
We have reached out to the members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation and as of this writing, Senator Cory Booker, Congressman Donald Norcross, Congressman Herb Conaway, Congressman Josh Gottheimer, Congresswoman Watson Coleman, and Congresswoman LaMonica McIver have posted guidance information on their website. When additional members post information, we will share it in future updates.
We will continue to monitor this situation and report.
Contact: Paul Penna, Senior Legislative Analyst, ppenna@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x110.