With just days left before a potential government shutdown, House Republicans have unveiled a seven-week stopgap funding bill that has ignited a fierce debate on Capitol Hill, laying bare the deep partisan divides over health care, security, and the legislative process itself. The bill, officially titled the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026, was introduced on September 16, 2025, and is designed to keep the federal government running through November 21, 2025. But as the clock ticks toward the September 30 funding deadline, both parties are digging in, with Democrats warning that the GOP's approach could make a shutdown more likely rather than less.
The proposed legislation extends existing funding levels for federal agencies, avoiding immediate cuts or disruptions to government services. It also earmarks $58 million in additional resources for the federal judiciary and executive branch officials, as well as $30 million to bolster security for lawmakers—a response to heightened concerns about political violence following recent high-profile incidents. According to NPR, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., emphasized the need for "responsible options to keep the government open while all this work continues," noting that Republicans are "committed to making that happen."
Healthcare has emerged as a central battleground in the negotiations. The stopgap bill includes extensions to several hospital funding programs, such as the Low-volume Adjustment and Medicare-dependent Hospital programs, which provide critical support to rural and smaller hospitals. It also delays $8 billion per year in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts over three years, totaling $24 billion for more than 2,500 hospitals nationwide. These measures are intended to provide breathing room for hospitals facing financial strain, especially in underserved areas.
Additionally, the bill extends Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the acute hospital care at home program, both of which were set to expire on October 1. These extensions are particularly significant for providers and patients who have come to rely on virtual care options since the pandemic. Other healthcare provisions include continued add-on payments for Medicare ground ambulance services, as well as funding extensions for community health centers, the National Health Service Corps, and teaching health centers that operate Graduate Medical Education programs. However, the Medicare Improvement Fund's allocation is being reduced from $1.8 billion to $664 million, reflecting a tightening of certain budget lines even as others are preserved or expanded.
Despite these healthcare provisions, Democrats have sharply criticized the bill for what it leaves out. Chief among their concerns is the exclusion of an extension for Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. These subsidies, first established during the COVID-19 pandemic, have reduced average annual premium payments by $705 per enrollee, according to industry data cited by Fierce Healthcare. Letting them lapse would mean higher premiums for millions of Americans, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that 4.2 million more people could become uninsured by 2034 if the credits are not renewed.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has pushed back hard against Democratic demands to address ACA subsidies and Medicaid cuts in the September funding bill. "In exchange for their vote to fund the government, some Democrats said they wanted Republicans to repeal our very popular and very effective reforms to the Medicaid program," Johnson told reporters, as quoted by Fierce Healthcare. "Zero chance that we will do that because it’s the right thing to do." Johnson has repeatedly characterized the ACA premium extension as "a December policy issue, not a September funding issue," drawing a clear line between immediate government funding and broader health policy debates.
Democratic leaders, however, see things very differently. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has asserted that the bill will not win Democratic support in the Senate unless it addresses the looming healthcare cuts. "A clean CR that does not address the looming health care cuts won’t get our votes, plain and simple," Schumer declared, according to The Hill. In a joint statement, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of acting under former President Donald Trump’s orders to "jam a partisan spending bill down the throats of the American people" without including Democratic input. They argue that the GOP’s refusal to negotiate on healthcare provisions "fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis."
Republican leaders, for their part, have touted the bill as a "clean" continuing resolution free of partisan "poison pills," arguing that it reflects a good-faith effort to keep the government open while longer-term negotiations continue. Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in a statement, "Keeping our government open and working for the American people is not a partisan issue—and this clean, short-term funding extension reflects that." Cole added that the measure "prevents the chaos of a shutdown and allows us to stay focused on restoring regular order."
Yet, the process by which the bill was crafted has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, who say it was done without meaningful bipartisan negotiation. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., both top Democrats on their respective appropriations panels, have accused House Republican leadership of "walking away from negotiations" and "threatening a shutdown by trying to jam through a funding bill on their terms alone." According to The Hill, they warned that this approach puts Congress "on the brink" of a funding lapse.
The political stakes are high. House Republicans hold only a narrow majority and can afford to lose just a couple of votes if Democrats stand united in opposition. In the Senate, at least 60 votes are needed to advance a funding bill, meaning bipartisan support is essential. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has called for both parties to come together, urging Democrats to "think better of their shutdown plans and join us" in supporting a clean funding extension.
Underlying the legislative wrangling is a broader debate about the role of government and the best way to manage the nation’s finances. The House and Senate have both begun passing full-year funding bills for fiscal year 2026, but a conference committee to reconcile differences has yet to be formed. Meanwhile, federal agencies are still operating at fiscal 2024 funding levels, and the new bill aims to prevent furloughs and disruptions to government services.
As the House prepares to vote on the bill by September 19, the outcome remains uncertain. The path forward will depend on whether enough lawmakers are willing to set aside partisan differences—or at least postpone the most contentious policy fights—to keep the government running. For now, the prospect of a shutdown looms large, with millions of Americans watching closely to see whether their leaders can find common ground, or whether gridlock will once again bring Washington to a halt.
In the end, the debate over this stopgap bill is about more than numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s a window into the competing visions for America’s future—and a test of whether Congress can still function when the stakes are highest.
