On August 2, 2026, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Appropriations Committee released the details of a continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the federal government funded, after the current fiscal year ends on September 30, through December 11. A CR may be necessary given neither the U.S. House of Representatives nor U.S. Senate to date have considered any of the 12 annual appropriations bills, including the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill, which funds the Census Bureau.
The Senate version of the CR includes language (Section 120), granting the Census Bureau flexibility to spend necessary, additional funds in support of 2030 Decennial Census preparations.
Sec. 120. Bureau of the Census—Periodic Censuses and Programs. This section allows amounts made available for the Bureau of the Census to be apportioned at a rate necessary to prepare for the 2030 Decennial Census.
In a recent organizational sign-on letter from The Census Project, stakeholders expressed support for providing the Census Bureau with a funding anomaly to ensure they have sufficient resources during any CR to support essential activities, including 2030 Census operations.
The full Senate is scheduled to begin consideration of its CR on Monday, August 3.
Before adjourning for its August district work period, the House of Representatives also passed a CR that would fund the federal government through December 4. Their CR, however, did not include any census-specific provisions.
