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What major deadlines or funding bills are scheduled this week in Congress?
Executive summary
Congress faces no single universally agreed “this week” statutory deadline beyond the ongoing effort to end the government shutdown, with lawmakers debating whether to extend short-term funding into December, January, or beyond to let negotiators finish full-year appropriations. Senate leaders signaled in early November 2025 that the House’s November 21 stopgap date is likely impractical and that a longer continuing resolution will be considered, while the House has signaled openness to funding into January [1] [2] [3]. Multiple sources indicate a Senate vote on advancing a House-passed continuing resolution was scheduled for November 4, 2025, representing repeated attempts to reopen the government amid disputes over health-care subsidies and negotiations [3].
1. The showdown this week: repeated attempts to advance a continuing resolution
Senate floor action was slated this week on a House-passed continuing resolution after more than a dozen failed cloture or procedural efforts, with one report noting a scheduled vote at 11:30 AM on November 4, 2025—potentially the 14th attempt to move the bill—reflecting persistent procedural gridlock and bipartisan frustration [3]. Senate leaders including John Thune publicly acknowledged that the November 21 date in the House bill is no longer viable given the time needed for appropriators to craft full-year bills, and suggested shifting the deadline to early 2026 or approving an amended measure to give negotiators breathing room [2]. These developments show the Senate is actively recalibrating deadlines in real time rather than adhering to a fixed weekly schedule.
2. Why November 21 is being abandoned and what replacements are on the table
Multiple sources explain that the House-passed CR’s November 21 cutoff was rooted in earlier planning but is now considered too short to resolve the sprawling disputes that triggered the shutdown; Senate leaders openly discussed moving a deadline to December, January, or early 2026 to allow appropriators time to write full-year funding bills [1] [2]. House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly favors a January extension, which would align with a strategy of providing more runway for bipartisan negotiations, while Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins described cautious optimism that a resolution could arrive by the end of the week—though those comments acknowledged uncertainty [1]. The push-and-pull highlights competing strategic aims: urgent reopening vs. securing policy concessions.
3. The standoff over health subsidies and the leverage being wagered
A persistent dispute centers on Democrats’ demand that Republicans negotiate extensions of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies as part of any funding deal, while Republicans insist Democrats must vote to reopen the government first—creating a chicken-and-egg dynamic that has repeatedly blocked passage [1]. The stalemate explains why Senate leaders are considering decoupling the immediate pressure by endorsing a longer CR: leadership calculations now focus on buying time to reconcile policy riders and budget trade-offs instead of forcing an immediate policy concession. Reports from early November 2025 emphasize that despite procedural votes and negotiating talk, no bipartisan agreement on healthcare or other contentious riders had emerged [2] [3].
4. Broader fiscal deadlines beyond the immediate CR debate
Independent assessments compiled earlier in 2025 pointed to other calendar markers—such as expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies on December 31, 2025, statutory PAYGO sequesters in January 2026, and various Medicare payment and discretionary caps—but those are separate from the immediate shutdown battle and have been framed as downstream pressure points rather than this week’s make-or-break events [4] [5]. Analysts note that some full-year spending frameworks and the Fiscal Responsibility Act constraints were set earlier in 2025, meaning Congress’ longer-term budget architecture is known even as near-term stopgap decisions remain unsettled [5] [6]. These later deadlines increase the stakes for any multi-month CR.
5. What to watch next and the political forces shaping decisions
Watch for Senate procedural votes and any House return to consider Senate amendments, because any shift of a funding date requires both chambers to act—the Senate can amend but cannot unilaterally change the law without the House’s agreement [2]. Expect continued public positioning: Senate leaders signaling flexibility to avoid immediate economic shocks, House leaders pushing for policy gains, and Democrats pressing healthcare extensions as leverage. The reporting through November 3–5, 2025, indicates active negotiation but no settled path: the calendar is fluid, the practical deadline may be moved into December or January, and the short-term focus is on ending the shutdown rather than a single formal deadline this week [1] [2] [3].