Promises to head off any on-base operations disruptions at least until December.
Pentagon policy, supported by Congress, allows commissaries to access reserve funds to keep the stores open during shutdowns. However, these funds are limited and often result in scaled back operations in order to extend the limited funding runway. ALA advocated for the use of these reserve funds because of impacts on beneficiaries and effects on suppliers, including associated supply chain uncertainties that can result in shortages and increased costs, especially for shipments to far-flung global stores. Further, during shutdowns, base operations are disrupted and scaled back and on-base civilian workers get laid off, with effects on sales at on-base commissaries, exchanges and other programs.
The lopsided 90-6 Senate vote on the measure gives lawmakers about 10 extra weeks to complete full-year appropriations bills for fiscal 2027. The House-passed measure funds the government until December 4. While the Senate and House still need to work out their differences, the Wide margin in the Senate signals that there is not taste for shutting down the government in the middle of the mid-term election cycle. The House won’t be back in session until the first week of September.
While passage of the bipartisan stopgap measure was in little doubt, bringing it to the finish line took days of negotiation as leaders struggled to reach a timing agreement by unanimous consent to speed up consideration of the bill along with other legislation they sought to pass before the Senate left town for its long August recess.
Barring unexpected events, the funding patch is not likely to have much difficulty getting across the House floor after the widely bipartisan vote in the Senate. Lawmakers are eager to return to the campaign trail in October ahead of the November midterm elections.
But there is still a chance that the House could try to amend the Senate bill if any new concerns crop up over the long August recess that lawmakers want to address in a must-pass vehicle like the continuing resolution.
