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Blog | March 31, 2026

The Federal Budget Timeline & Process

Learn the details of how federal budgets are created and how government affairs professionals can get involved. This article breaks down each stage of the federal appropriations cycle, including who is involved, when it occurs, and what happens when a budget is late. You will also gain insight into what government affairs teams must do at every step to make the biggest impact.

Federal Budget Timeline
Anna van Erven

Policy Content Strategist

The federal budgeting process is lengthy and complex. But knowing how the process works can be the difference between taking advantage of these opportunities and letting them slip by.

Political realities mean the federal budget often deviates from the standard process and timeline, but that only means advocacy and government affairs professionals need to be even more in the know: You need to be aware of both the fundamental process and how it changes year to year.

When you are, you’ll be able to develop a strategy that gets your organization’s priorities considered in the federal budgetary conversation.  
 

Key Takeaways

  • The federal budget passes through a multi-step process before Congress votes and the President signs it into law.
  • While a formal timeline for federal appropriations exists,
  • Congress rarely follows it. It is common for a new fiscal year to start without a completed federal budget.
  • Every budget cycle is unique and often involves additional legislative measures like continuing resolutions and reconciliation bills.
  • As of March 2026, the budget for fiscal year 2026 is finalized for all federal agencies except the Department of Homeland Security.
  • Discussions for fiscal year 2027 appropriations are underway, and the President expects to submit a budget proposal soon.
  • Government affairs professionals can act at every step of the federal budget cycle to advance their organization’s priorities.
     

2026 Federal Budget Status

The federal 2026 fiscal year officially began on October 1, 2025.

At that time, Congress had not passed a federal budget. This failure caused a government shutdown. The shutdown lasted until November 12, when Congress passed full-year funding for a small group of federal agencies and a continuing resolution to fund the rest through January 30, 2026.

Congress missed the January 30 deadline, triggering a partial government shutdown until February 3. Congress then passed the majority of the remaining funding bills. The exception was the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which received a continuing resolution until February 13. After that date, DHS shut down.

As of late March 2026, Congress has not passed an appropriations bill for DHS. The government remains in a partial shutdown affecting only DHS agencies.

Meanwhile, federal agencies have already submitted their 2027 budget priorities. The White House tentatively plans its 2027 government budget announcement for the week of March 30, 2026. This release will officially begin negotiations over the 2027 federal budget.  

Who Approves the Federal Budget?

The federal budget is approved by the House, Senate, and the President combined. There is a lot of back and forth and collaboration to get this to happen, and it doesn't always go according to plan.

What Happens if Congress Doesn't Pass a Budget? 

If Congress doesn’t pass a budget before the end of the fiscal year, it may elect to pass a continuing resolution that temporarily funds the federal government at the same levels as the previous fiscal year. If no continuing resolution is passed, the government is shut down until a federal budget is passed.

When is the Federal Budget Due?

Technically, the federal budget does not have a specific deadline each year. The fiscal year starts on Oct. 1, whether or not an approved budget is present.

While the House is supposed to pass all appropriations bills by June 30, Congress does not have a deadline for submitting the final budget to the president after that. Once the president receives it, they have 10 days to approve or veto it.

When Does the Federal Budget Get Approved?

The federal budget becomes official when the President signs it. Because the process has many moving pieces and no strict deadline, Congress often passes the budget well after the official October 1 deadline.

14 Steps in the Federal Budget Process Timeline

Federal agencies, which have been engaged in internal budget planning for at least six months — as much as 18 months before the fiscal year begins — submit their proposals to the Executive Office of the President’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.

The president then determines what the administration will support. The OMB notifies agencies of the President’s directives and guidance via what’s known as “passbacks,” issued around Thanksgiving.

Incorporating revisions, agencies submit their final requests to the OMB, which forwards them to the President, who may or may not include them in the President’s budget request to Congress due in February.

The President traditionally outlines budget priorities in the State of the Union Address.

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 requires the President to submit the budget request to Congress by the first Monday in February.

Why this matters for GA teams: The President’s budget request sets the tone for that year’s budgetary conversations and helps government affairs teams begin developing their outreach strategy for the budget cycle.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) submits its analysis of the President’s budget request to the House and Senate budget committees, with emphasis on long-term fiscal and economic outlooks.

This is a precursor to Congress’s budget resolution.

The deadline for Congress to pass its budget resolution to guide decision-making for 12 appropriation subcommittees, which begin hearings on specific proposals that can last into the summer. Authorizing committees also address potential changes to mandatory spending or tax laws. Committees submit bills to respective chambers for adoption, eventually forming a comprehensive budget.

Why this matters for GA teams: This is the point where legislation starts getting drafted. It’s the perfect opportunity to reach out to your contacts on the Hill and advise them on how they should address your priorities in appropriations bills.

House begins formally approving annual appropriation bills drafts by appropriation and authorizing committees.

The deadline for the House Appropriations Committee to submit its last annual appropriation bill to committees.

The deadline for Congress to adopt “reconciliation legislation” if such measures are required by the budget resolution approved in April.

The deadline for the House to approve annual appropriation bills. In practice, this rarely occurs.

There is no deadline for Congress to submit its final proposed budget to the President other than a Constitutional mandate that the President must either approve or veto it within 10 days of receiving it. A veto means the process must start again.

If a budget has not been adopted, Congress passes a continuing resolution (CR) to ensure federal agencies have the money to operate, or it allows the government to “shut down,” meaning all non-essential programs close and workers are furloughed.

Why this matters for GA teams: If your priorities are still being debated at this point, you can update your strategy in response. If not, it’s time to assess the final budget for implications for your organization and brief your leadership team accordingly.  

When the Timeline Breaks Down: What GA Teams Need to Track

While the order of operations in this timeline is generally followed, its dates and deadlines are almost always missed. Since the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 went into effect in fiscal year 1977, Congress has only passed all its appropriations measures on time four times (1977, 1989, 1995, 1997).

Instead of relying on official dates, government affairs teams need to monitor each year’s deliberations to know the status of the federal budget.
They also need to understand of some common Congressional actions that often come up in relation to the appropriations debate:
 

  • Reconciliation bills: Reconcile previous laws with new appropriations. Congress instructs committees to amend existing laws to make planned spending possible. Reconciliation bills have special privileges in the Senate, including limited debate time. This makes them easier to pass.
  • Continuing resolutions keep government funding flowing if Congress fails to pass appropriations before the fiscal year begins. They fund agencies at the previous year's levels. They expire on a predetermined date, forcing Congress to act again.
  • Omnibus bills combine several pieces of legislation into a single package. Whether Congress uses an omnibus or smaller bills shapes the entire debate. In the 2026 cycle, Congress used smaller bills to keep most of the government open while debating DHS funding. 

By contrast, a reconciliation bill passed last July was an omnibus bill to allow more legislative priorities to get passed at one time.
 

Key Action Windows for Government Affairs Teams

Successful government affairs teams and advocacy groups take action at each stage of the appropriations process, from the earliest agency proposals to the moment the federal budget is signed into law.

Key action windows for government affairs teams

Successful government affairs teams and advocacy groups take action at each stage of the appropriations process, from the earliest agency proposals to the moment the federal budget is signed into law.

Stage of the appropriations process Official timeframe Actions to take
Agency planning season (Steps 1–3) Fall – early winter
  • Engage contacts at federal agencies to discuss priorities
President submits budget request First Monday in February
  • Analyze presidential budget for wins, losses, and gaps
  • Begin developing a strategy for supporting or opposing aspects of the president's budget
Congress passes budget resolution April 15
  • Analyze budget resolution for wins, losses, and gaps; compare against presidential budget
  • Engage legislative contacts
  • Monitor committee activity around priority issues
  • Take note of reconciliation instructions, if present
Legislative appropriations activity May–June (House)
Summer (Senate)
  • Track subcommittee markups
  • Continue engagement with legislative contacts
  • Coordinate advocacy activity if needed
Transition to new fiscal year September–October
  • Shift to contingency monitoring
  • Coordinate updated advocacy strategy if priority issues are still being debated
  • Brief leadership on operational implications

What Leadership Will Ask You — And How to Be Ready

Throughout the appropriations cycle, you can expect your organization’s leadership to ask you questions like:

  • Is our priority issue funded in the President's budget request? In the Congressional budget resolution?
  • What is being done to ensure our priority issue will be supported in the final budget?
  • How does a continuing resolution affect our grant funding / contract / regulatory timeline?
  • What happens to [agency / program] if there's a shutdown?
  • When will we know if the appropriations bill passed?

Knowing what leadership will ask is only half the job. A great government affairs team can answer these questions in a clear, direct way that senior leadership will understand. Here are some tips on how to be ready to respond quickly. 

Pre-build your answers to predictable questions

Most leadership questions follow patterns: Where does this stand? What happens next? What does this mean for us?
Be ready with clear, repeatable answers that cover status, timing, and impact—so you’re not starting from scratch every time.

Track implications, not just activity

It’s not enough to know what moved. You need to know what changed, who it affects, and what it might require from your organization.
When you have a clear, centralized view of what’s in play—what stage it’s in, who’s involved, and how it’s evolving—you can move quickly from update to implication.

Maintain a live executive brief

Keep a running view of the few issues leadership actually cares about, along with their current status, risks, and potential outcomes.
This only works if your inputs are always up to date. When your understanding of the landscape is continuously maintained, your brief is too.

Prepare for scenarios, not certainty

In periods of uncertainty, leadership isn’t expecting a single answer—they’re expecting to understand what could happen.
Anchor your scenarios in what’s actually happening: what’s advancing, what’s stalled, and where decisions are likely to break. That’s what makes your guidance credible.

Translate everything into business impact

Before sharing any update, pressure-test it: what does this change for the organization?
Does it affect funding, timing, operations, or risk? If you can’t answer that, leadership won’t find the update useful.

Get ahead of the question

The strongest signal of value isn’t answering questions—it’s answering them before they’re asked.
When something meaningful shifts, proactively share what happened, what it means, and what to watch next.

Build a short answer bank over time

You’ll hear the same questions again and again. Capture your best answers and refine them.
Over time, you’ll respond faster, more consistently, and with greater clarity.