Senate Expected to Vote on Revised Appropriations Package Before Impacts of a Shutdown Take Effect
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter , Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Managing Editor
After clashing over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week, the Senate on Thursday agreed to move forward with a revised spending bill that would fund the Department of Education (ED) and other agencies through the end of the 2026 fiscal year (FY). Even though funding for several government agencies is set to lapse over the weekend and both chambers still need to vote on the package, the White House’s endorsement of the agreement indicates that a partial government shutdown should be averted.
Late Thursday evening Senate leaders agreed to a revised funding package, which retained most of the provisions from the bicameral agreement that passed the House last week. The bill would allot $79 billion in discretionary funding for ED, and flat-fund the Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and Federal Work-Study (FWS) programs at FY 2025 levels. The legislation also includes a provision that would block funding for ED from being transferred to other agencies, unless specified in the appropriations law.
However, the Senate decoupled funding for DHS – which will need to be addressed at a later date but does not impact funding for ED – and will require the bill to go back to the House for another vote. Should the House approve the Senate-passed version, the President would still need to sign the bill into law.
Just a few months ago, the federal government was fully shut down for 43 days – from October 1 to November 12, 2025. The shutdown ended when President Donald Trump signed into law a continuing-resolution (CR), a short-term funding extension, that funds some agencies, including ED, through January 30, 2026.
Even though the January 30 deadline will likely pass before the House has a chance to reconvene, so long as the chamber remains on track to clear the bill, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will likely be able to avert any short-term impacts of a partial government shutdown.
Stay tuned to Today’s News for more details on the appropriations process.
Publication Date: 1/30/2026
You must be logged in to comment on this page.