Congress Faces Shutdown as DOT and HUD Bills Advance

The B.L.U.F. (Bottom Line Up Front): The government appears to be sprinting to a shutdown with just two legislative days left to vote on funding before the October 1 funding deadline. Republicans and Democrats have introduced differing versions of Continuing Resolutions to keep funding open until November 21, but they appear to be very far apart in finding a path forward. Passing a CR would allow Congress to have more time to negotiate a full budget bill, but neither the Republicans’ nor the Democrats’ version of the CR passed the Senate on Friday. In longer-term negotiations, House and Senate leadership agreed on top-line funding for the MilCon-VA, Legislative Branch, and Agriculture bills. In other news, the Appropriations Committee had a final markup for the Transportation Funding Bill this week and reaffirmed its budget goals. 

Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Bill Updates 

The House Appropriations Committee oversees funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For FY 2026, the Committee recommended a total of $90 billion in current-year discretionary funding, reflecting a 5% decrease from FY 2025. 

FUNDING CHANGES:

• • • The FY 2026 bill allocates an additional $300 million in funding for the Highway Infrastructure Program, totaling $1 billion, of which $954 million is earmarked for community project funding (pg. 49).

    • The House subcommittee provides $10,000,000 to fund the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP) to support walking, biking, and other “active transportation” infrastructure as included in the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act (pg. 50).  

    • The Committee increases funding for the Small Shipyard Program to $30M, up from $8 million in FY 2025 (pg. 77).  

    • The FY 2026 bill reflects the Committee's concern with the current Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). The Committee is worried about the ongoing delays in grant materials review and approval for the program. To combat significant delays, the Committee requests a report within 60 days of enactment to identify what steps MARAD is taking to streamline the process and expedite awarding. The House subcommittee also encourages the PIDP program to consider geographic diversity in its awards at the state and national levels (pg. 79).  

View the full text of the bill here. 

CFS TAKEAWAY:

Continue to be alert as Congress becomes increasingly connected to agency decisions and grant awards. Both the transportation and labor committees are requiring the agencies to provide them oversight into grant award processes. This likely means the awards will align closely with administration and political priorities and will be under increased scrutiny in the future.

Funding Opportunities

Denali Commission Statement of Interest Now Open: Supporting USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Programs and Partners  

The Denali Commission is inviting statements of interest (SOI) for projects that support and further the goals of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Projects should build capacity to support NRCS programs and partners; build Tribal programs or support costs for obtaining required permissions for easements and land trusts. Awards can be funded for up to $2.5 million with $10 million total given out. SOIs are due December 1, 2025.  

View the full statement of interest here.  

Accelerating Speed to Power RFI Now Accepting Responses 

The Department of Energy (DOE) is inviting public input and seeking detailed information via this request for information (RFI) on large-scale generation, transmission, and grid infrastructure projects that can accelerate speed to power to support manufacturing, industrial, and artificial intelligence/data center electricity demand growth. In addition, DOE is requesting stakeholder input on how to best utilize its funding programs and authorities to rapidly expand energy generation and transmission grid capacity to meet electricity demand growth across the country in a reliable and affordable manner. RFI responses are due November 21, 2025.  

View the full request for information here.  

Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) Program Now Open  

On September 19, 2025, EDA announced a new NOFO for the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) Program, open to the 19 designated Hubs that have not yet received Implementation Awards. The Tech Hubs Program aims to stimulate American regions with the assets, talent, and capacity to become global leaders in critical technologies within the next decade. Funding will be awarded to implement projects for critical technologies that strengthen economic development and national security. Applications are due November 7, 2025. 

View the full NOFO here.  

Make Our Children Healthy Again Initiative  

The Make America Healthy Again Commission released its MAHA Report, which outlines strategies for targeted executive actions to advance gold-standard science, realign incentives, increase public awareness, and strengthen private-sector collaboration. 

View the full report here. 

Looking Ahead

With Congress on recess in observance of Rosh Hashanah, there doesn’t appear to be enough time left in the legislative calendar to avoid a government shutdown. The better question is: how long will it be? After some likely posturing from both sides, there will be work done to bring the government back out of shutdown.  

Once a CR is passed (assuming it is not a year-long CR as we have seen in the past), Congress will work to pass all 12 funding bills to provide a new budget for federal agencies. CFS will continue to monitor budget discussions and bill amendments as they change.  

Curious how a government shutdown impacts funding programs? Read our insight article from last spring when Congress was last facing a looming shutdown.