The annual appropriations process begins each year with the president submitting a budget request to Congress, outlining the administration's priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. The NACo 2027 Appropriations Tracker provides counties with a comprehensive overview of the federal appropriations process, tracking the progress of key spending bills and offering insights on how these will impact county funding and services.

Tagged In:

Intergovernmental Affairs

Jump to Section

The annual appropriations process begins each year with the president submitting a budget request to Congress, outlining the administration's priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. The U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees then each hold a series of budget hearings with the heads of the various federal agencies and adopt a budget resolution outlining the topline spending limits for the respective fiscal year. Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 discretionary spending limits are not bound to statutory spending caps enforced by sequestration.

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees then adopt topline spending limits for each of the 12 spending bills (known as “subcommittee allocations”) and each of the subcommittees draft their spending bills in line with these limits. The 12 annual spending bills are considered at both the subcommittee and full-committee level before advancing to the full chamber for a vote. After appropriations bills are passed by both chambers of Congress, appropriators and party leadership from each chamber enter negotiations through a “conference committee” where differences between the bills are resolved. Both the House and Senate must then pass the reconciled bills before they are sent to the president’s desk for signature. If Congress fails to enact all 12 bills by Oct. 1, it may pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to maintain federal funding at current levels on a temporary basis while negotiations continue.

Counties rely on federal funds determined through the annual appropriations process to provide vital services to our residents. As such, we urge Congress and the president to commit to working together to reach an agreement on all spending legislation by Oct. 1 of each year. 

The House Committee on Appropriations formally kicked off the FY 2027 appropriations process with subcommittees beginning to meet in mid-April. The U.S. Senate is set to start its process mid to late May.

FY 2027 Appropriations Status

Bill Name	House Bill	House Subcommittee	House Committee	House Initial Passage	Senate Bill	County Impact
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies	H.R. 8646	10-7 04/23/2026	35-25 04/29/2026		TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here. House Committee Summary can be found here.
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies	H.R. 8845	8-6 04/30/2026	32-28 05/13/2026		TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here. U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee summary here. Community Project Funding Requests can be found here.
Defense	H.R. 8469				TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here.
Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies	Draft Bill	Voice Vote 05/15/2026			TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here. Community Project Funding Requests can be found here.
Financial Services and General Government	H.R. 8495	9-6 04/22/2026	34-28 04/22/2026		TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here. U.S. House Appropriations Committee summary here.
Homeland Security	TBD Scheduled 06/05/2026				TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here.
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies	TBD Scheduled 05/21/2026				TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here. NACo's coalition letter to the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations can be found here.
Legislative Branch	Draft Bill	5-4 04/30/2026			TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here. House Committee Summary can be found here.
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies	TBD				TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here. NACo's letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees on substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery services can be found here.
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies	H.R. 8469	Voice Vote 04/17/2026	58-0 04/21/2026	400-15 05/15/2026	TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here. House Subcommittee Summary can be found here. Community Funding Project Requests can be found here.
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs	H.R 8595	8-5 04/23/2026	35-27 04/28/2026		TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here. House Subcommittee Summary can be found here .
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies	TBD Scheduled 06/04/2026				TBD	Advocacy NACo’s letter to the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees can be found here.