Congress returned Monday with just over a month to keep federal funding from lapsing and Republicans still in control of both chambers. The House convened at noon and returned to legislative business at 2 p.m. as lawmakers began their first week of substantive work after the midterm elections. The September law that kept agencies funded into the new fiscal year sets Dec. 11 as the expiration date for temporary appropriations, unless Congress replaces them sooner.

Democrats won control of the next House and Senate, but that change takes effect in January. Until then, Republican leaders will decide what to bring to the floor, while both chambers still have to agree on a bill that can become law. As the Associated Press reported, lawmakers returned with a government funding package among the main pieces of unfinished business. The election changed who will be in charge next year; it did not move the deadline that this Congress faces.

What the December deadline covers

Congress enacted the current continuing resolution in September to carry federal operations past Oct. 1, the start of fiscal 2027. The law generally bases temporary funding on the previous year’s appropriations, with adjustments for specific programs. It also generally bars agencies from using that temporary money to start or resume projects that lacked funding authority in fiscal 2026. The result is a bridge for existing operations while lawmakers decide which programs should receive money for the full year and at what levels.

The expiration applies to spending that depends on this temporary authority. Section 106 of the law also lets regular appropriations supersede that authority earlier. So a lapse would depend on which accounts, if any, lawmakers fund separately in the meantime. The law also contains provisions tailored to specific operations: It allows agencies to make funds available for the federal nutrition program for women, infants and children at a rate sufficient to maintain participation, for example. Such provisions illustrate why the contents of another extension matter alongside its end date.

The same law separately extended expiring provisions for federal surface transportation through Dec. 11, including authorities for highway and transit programs. Extending those authorities and keeping federal agencies funded are separate legislative tasks, even when lawmakers put them in the same bill. A new measure’s text would show which of those expiring provisions Congress chooses to renew.

Another stopgap would shift the next negotiation

Congress normally funds annual operations through a dozen appropriations bills. NPR reported that the compressed calendar makes another temporary extension the likelier route, while ABC News reported that lawmakers were still far from a deal. They could pass full-year bills for some parts of government and extend funding elsewhere. The central question is how much spending they can settle now and how much they leave for another negotiation.

If a stopgap runs past the start of the new Congress, Democrats would negotiate the next bill from the majority while President Donald Trump remains in office. An extension that expires before the change would leave the outgoing Congress facing another deadline. A full-year agreement would settle the covered accounts for longer. Those choices give a routine question about how many weeks to fund the government an added political consequence this year.

Floor control only gets a bill so far

The September measure drew support from both parties, clearing the House 370–48 after the Senate amended it. That vote shows there was a broad coalition for the earlier extension; it does not establish that the same lawmakers would support a bill with a different end date or new policy conditions. The earlier vote came before the election, when members did not yet know which party would control the next Congress.

In the Senate, a bill can pass by a simple majority, but the chamber’s debate rules generally require three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn to cut off debate on legislation when cloture is needed. With all 100 seats filled, that means 60 votes. The distinction is one reason that the party in charge of the floor can choose to advance a funding bill but may still need help from the other party to get to a final vote.

A crowded calendar before the handoff

The House schedule listed a series of nuclear policy measures and a veterans’ compensation bill for Monday, with votes planned for the evening. A funding bill was absent from that day’s announced voting list. Lawmakers also have to make time for the annual defense authorization measure and other unfinished legislation, including farm policy, ABC News reported. The defense authorization sets policy for the military; it is distinct from the appropriations that provide the money.

The immediate signs of progress will be a bill text, an expiration date and a floor schedule that gives both chambers time to act. A short extension could leave major spending choices unresolved even if it keeps agencies funded. Full-year bills could resolve some of those choices before the next Congress takes office. Until one of those routes becomes law, Dec. 11 remains the deadline for the funding still covered by the September measure.