The Topline: Steptoe Appropriations Newsletter | May 15, 2026

FY27 Moves Forward. Congress continues to march forward in its efforts to work through as many of the twelve appropriations bills as possible before the August recess. Yesterday, the House passed the Military Construction (MilCon)-VA spending bill, marking the first bill of this appropriations cycle to pass the House. Two days earlier, the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) bill became the fifth FY27 bill to be reported out of full committee. House subcommittee markups are also progressing, with the Energy and Water bill under review this morning, and full committee consideration next Wednesday.

Senate appropriators held additional budget hearings this week, discussing requests from the Department of Defense, FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals Service, EPA, GSA, MilCon and Family Housing, and HUD. The Senate is slated to begin markups on June 4, starting with Agriculture-FDA (Ag), CJS, and Legislative Branch. The MilCon-VA, Agriculture, and CJS subcommittees have reportedly all received tentative allocations from Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), though they do not yet have bipartisan sign-off.

Reconciliation Heads to a Byrd Bath. Following the passage of a budget resolution at the end of April, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs (HSGAC) and Judiciary Committees have been busy drafting the text of their portions of a reconciliation bill, which total more than $70 billion, largely for border security. The Homeland Security Committee tentatively plans to vote on its portion of the package on May 19. To expedite the process, the Judiciary Committee will forego plans to mark up its portion and instead add it to the HSGAC bill by amendment on the floor. After that happens, the Senate Budget Committee will meet to compile the full bill.

In preparation for next week's markup and floor consideration, Senate staff met with the Senate Parliamentarian yesterday to begin the "Byrd Bath," the informal review process in which the Parliamentarian examines the bill to identify and remove provisions that lack a direct fiscal impact or violate jurisdictional rules. Following these meetings, the Parliamentarian issued rulings on several provisions within the Homeland Security title, determining that items related to CBP funding, border surveillance, and $2.5 billion in general appropriations for DHS were not germane and would therefore be subject to a 60-vote threshold. Republicans on the Committee will likely rewrite these provisions in hopes of making it through the Byrd Bath. Democratic Senate staff are also preparing to object to a provision in the Judiciary title providing $1 billion to the Secret Service for security upgrades, including for the White House East Wing modernization project, in part because it would fund security for the proposed White House ballroom. Removal of the provision may come as a relief to some Senate Republicans who appeared unsatisfied with the Trump Administration's justification for the funding line. Expect additional Parliamentarian rulings today and into early next week as Republicans look to finalize the text.

A Senate "vote-a-rama" on the measure is slated for next Wednesday, with the goal of sending the measure to the House for passage by Friday. House leadership has indicated it will be prepared and has added a session day to the calendar next Friday, the day which previously marked the start of the Memorial Day recess.

The More Reconciliation the Merrier? As the Senate works to complete "Reconciliation 2.0," House Republicans are increasingly positive about a third package. This week, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX), and Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) all expressed optimism that they could complete a third package before the August recess. Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) acknowledged that other priorities, such as appropriations, will be competing for legislators' attention this summer but said another reconciliation package ahead of the midterms is still feasible. Senate GOP leaders are less optimistic, with Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) both making clear on Wednesday that their focus remains on the current package.

Breaking the Process. In an op-ed published in The Hill earlier this month, our own Leslie Belcher shared her views on using the budget reconciliation process to fund Homeland Security in response to Senate gridlock. She argues that doing so undermines Congress's constitutional power of the purse—a mechanism intended to ensure transparency, tradeoffs, and oversight of federal spending—and warns that bypassing regular appropriations to avoid the filibuster sets a dangerous precedent. Instead, Belcher urges a narrowly tailored filibuster exception for shutdown-related funding to preserve Congress's core budgetary authority. You can read more about how "Congress is breaking the appropriations process" here.