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# How Spending Measures Reflect the Nature of Congress
- URL: https://www.thepolicyregister.com/how-spending-measures-reflect-the-nature-of-congress/
- Published: 2026-10-05T12:53:37.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-05T12:53:37.000Z
- Author: Arsenii Glazunov

Just over a year ago, [the longest full government shutdown in US history](https://www.npr.org/2025/11/15/nx-s1-5609367/trump-government-shutdown-what-to-know-longest?ref=thepolicyregister.com) began. It lasted 43 days, from October 1 to November 12, 2025\. [JPMorgan later estimated](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-is-a-government-shutdown-and-why-are-we-likely-to-have-another-one/?ref=thepolicyregister.com) that it cost the country around 0.1 percentage points of GDP growth per week. The standoff originated in a fight over the ACA healthcare subsidies. It ultimately [ended when 8 moderate Senate Democrats joined the Republicans](https://www.npr.org/2025/11/15/nx-s1-5609367/trump-government-shutdown-what-to-know-longest?ref=thepolicyregister.com) to pass the funding deal.

The failure to pass appropriations bills on time is not at all new. In the last 49 years, [Congress completed all 12 appropriations bills on time only 4 times](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46595?ref=thepolicyregister.com). Instead, most fiscal years since 1977 relied on continuing resolutions (CRs) - stopgap temporary funding bills - with [more than 200 passed in the period](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46595?ref=thepolicyregister.com). Additionally, [a trend has recently emerged](https://www.ntu.org/publications/detail/50-years-of-appropriations-process-dysfunction?ref=thepolicyregister.com) of bundling spending measures into a single large omnibus bill. While the last fiscal year (FY) of 2026 largely diverged from this pattern ([11 out of 12 appropriations bills were enacted in smaller packages rather than one omnibus](https://www.crfb.org/blogs/appropriations-watch-fy-2026?ref=thepolicyregister.com), with DHS spending the exception), FY2027 seemingly reverted to it. [No appropriations bills have been enacted](https://www.pgpf.org/article/what-is-a-continuing-resolution/?ref=thepolicyregister.com), and a CR with [bipartisan support](https://www.astho.org/advocacy/federal-government-affairs/leg-alerts/2026/summary-of-fy27-continuing-resolution/?ref=thepolicyregister.com) delays action until December 11 - after the midterms.

Such dynamics around spending reflect one of the more curious aspects of Congress's nature: [short-termism](https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/viewFile/7764/3760?ref=thepolicyregister.com). In a highly polarised political climate, with the usual pressures of upcoming elections and short terms in office, it is difficult for lawmakers to prioritize policies whose benefits fall outside a single electoral cycle. This is true of the current Congress as well. On spending measures, reaching consensus in the Senate is especially hard, as [60 votes are needed to overcome a filibuster](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/10/us-senate-shutdown-vote-what-happened-who-voted-to-end-it-whats-next?ref=thepolicyregister.com) \- a threshold a majority party rarely reaches. Given that Republicans hold a majority well short of 60 seats, it is extremely difficult to attract support from Senate Democrats amid external political considerations. The most salient of these is, obviously, the midterms. As such, the most recent CR was [explicitly designed to forestall spending decisions until after the midterms](https://www.pgpf.org/article/what-is-a-continuing-resolution/?ref=thepolicyregister.com), with lawmakers prioritizing the political calendar over budget readiness.

Earmarks - provisions in spending legislation which allocate federal funds to specific local projects - [returned in 2021 after a ban imposed in 2011](https://counciloncj.org/doj-budget-in-focus-earmarks-grants-and-congressional-priorities-in-2026/?ref=thepolicyregister.com), and their popularity with lawmakers further points to the short-term nature of Congress. They are so popular precisely because they give members something tangible now - usually funds that go directly into their regions, which undoubtedly boosts their chances of reelection. In exchange, members are happy to lend their support to the spending bills. In this sense, earmarks are essentially a short-term cure for Congress's short-termism. They are a product of an institution whose makeup can radically change with each new electoral cycle. For members to have any hope of making a long-term impact, they must first retain their appeal in their home constituencies.

Omnibus bills also work because they are largely the only way to pass contentious spending measures in a highly polarised Congress. Passing each of the twelve appropriations measures separately is incredibly difficult and risks exposing the majority party's leadership to opposition not only from the minority party, but also from their own members, who might object to a certain part of a measure for ideological, political (e.g., bargaining for earmarks) or other reasons. Given that Speaker Mike Johnson has [faced rebellious members of his own party](https://www.chronline.com/stories/rank-and-file-house-members-are-going-around-leaders-to-force-votes-at-unprecedented-rate-what,393486?ref=thepolicyregister.com) and presided over a largely inactive chamber, lawmaking-wise, he would likely prefer to avoid unnecessary fights.

For many interest groups, the short-term nature of Congress presents great scope for [advocacy work](https://about.bgov.com/news/earmark-revival-in-congress-brings-lobbyists-fresh-opportunities/?ref=thepolicyregister.com). Omnibus bills make it much easier to pass legislation that is favourable to their clients, and earmarks give the groups' congressional champion a reason to support the measure while advancing their own priorities. The impact of earmarks is hard to overstate: in FY2026 alone, they directed [nearly $15.5 billion across more than 8,000 projects](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/02/26/congress-earmarks-2026-budget/?ref=thepolicyregister.com). It is unlikely that the upcoming midterms - whatever the outcome - will change much about Congress's short-termism. Bound by electoral pressures, members will always have to keep the next electoral cycle in mind and shape their behaviour accordingly.