Congressional Activity

Congressional appropriations are the legal authority that lets federal agencies spend money, and this tracker follows every appropriations bill, continuing resolution, and fiscal-policy measure introduced in the current Congress. Discretionary spending — roughly one-third of federal outlays — can only be obligated after Congress enacts an appropriation. When Congress fails to pass one before September 30, the government either shuts down or operates under a continuing resolution that extends the prior year's levels.

Mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare run on standing authority and don't require annual appropriations, so watching what appropriators do — and what they leave undone — is the best near-term signal for fiscal policy. Data comes directly from the Congress.gov API, refreshed daily. Each bill links back to its official record with full text, cosponsors, and status through introduction, committee action, floor votes, and enactment.

The annual appropriations process runs through twelve subcommittee bills — Defense, Labor-HHS, Homeland Security, and nine others — each funding a slice of discretionary government. Congress must enact all twelve, fold them into an omnibus, or pass a continuing resolution before the October 1 start of the fiscal year, or the affected agencies lapse into a shutdown. The tracker tags each measure by category and status so you can see how far the current year's spending bills have moved through committee, floor votes, and the President's signature.