Government Shutdown Extends to Second Week After Failed CR Votes in Senate

By Kim Johnson, NLIHC Senior Director of Policy 

A partial shutdown of the federal government is extending into its second week, after the Senate voted on and failed to pass two stopgap funding bills, known as continuing resolutions (CRs), on October 3. Shortly after the failed votes, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced House Republicans would not be returning to their offices on Capitol Hill until October 13, an effort to put pressure on Senate Democrats to vote in favor of the House-passed CR. Senators are expected to take up CR votes again today (October 6); the proposals are still expected to fail.  

The House passed on September 19 a Republican-backed “clean” CR, but the proposal faces opposition from Senate Democrats, who are calling for any CR to include a permanent extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits. These credits help people with low incomes better afford healthcare coverage but will expire at the end of the year without action from Congress, putting over four million people at risk of losing their health insurance (see Memo, 9/22). Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Angus King (I-ME) broke with their Democratic caucus colleagues to vote in favor of the measure, while Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Senate Republican to vote against.  

Senators also voted again on Senate Democrats’ alternative proposal, which would extend federal funding through October 31 while also permanently extending the ACA credits; restoring roughly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts enacted in July through H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; restoring funding for public broadcasting stations; and barring the White House from enacting further rescissions of Congressionally-approved funding. The proposal also failed by a vote of 46-52.  

Senate Democrats are calling on their Republican colleagues to come to the negotiating table over the CR and extension of ACA credits. “We cannot accept an empty promise, which is, ‘Oh, we’ll deal with this later,’” said Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA). “The fact is that this crisis is in front of us now. Come to the table now, work with us for a concrete solution, and we can get moving again.”  

However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) noted that, while he hopes to have a conversation with Democrats, “that can’t happen while the government is shutdown.”   

White House Seeks Additional Layoffs  

Without a CR in place, President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought are threatening to use the shutdown to cut additional staff for “Democrat Agencies.” A memo released late last month from OMB instructed federal agencies to carry out mass layoffs, known as Reductions in Force (RIFs), in the event of a government shutdown (see Memo, 9/29). The memo is being challenged in court by unions representing government employees, who maintain laying off federal workers during a government shutdown is illegal and that the Trump administration is “[using] federal employees as pawns in Congressional deliberations.”  

Shutdown Risks for HUD-Assisted Households  

Households who rely on HUD assistance should have had their October rent paid. However, the longer a shutdown continues, the greater the risk to assisted households, and the greater the disruption to essential federal services and programs. The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) published two updated shutdown resources, one for tenants outlining the legal rights of households receiving HUD assistance, and the other providing an overview of the impacts of a government shutdown for legal aid attorneys.  

NLIHC will continue working with our partners to monitor the shutdown, its potential effects on HUD programs, and the people and communities they serve.  

The Need for Additional Funding for Voucher Renewals in a Final FY26 

The shutdown was triggered by the beginning of the new federal fiscal year (FY), which began on October 1. Once a CR is in place, members of Congress will still need to come together to reach a final agreement in FY26 spending bills, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill that funds HUD’s vital affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs.  

While both the House and Senate FY26 THUD spending bills reject the drastic spending cuts and programmatic overhauls proposed in President Trump’s FY26 budget request, neither spending bill provides sufficient funding to ensure renewal of all existing Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) or Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs). Without sufficient funding, vouchers will be lost through attrition – when a household no longer needs their voucher, the voucher cannot be reissued to a new family because it is no longer attached to funding. When renewal funding is insufficient enough – or when funding is cut – households that rely on a voucher to keep a roof over their heads actively lose their rental assistance, putting them at risk for housing instability, eviction, and in worst cases, homelessness.  

At current funding levels, over 2.4 million households receive rental assistance, accounting for just one in four households who qualify. Under the House’s FY26 spending bill, an estimated 181,900 fewer households would be served; in the Senate, 107,800 fewer households would receive rental assistance. The loss of these vouchers would disproportionately affect older adults, people with disabilities, and families with children. 

Take Action 

Use NLIHC’s toolkits and resources to take action on FY26 funding, including by:   

• Using NLIHC’s advocacy toolkit, “Opposing Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing,” to call on Congress to protect and expand affordable housing and homelessness resources, including NLIHC’s priorities:  
  • Full funding to renew all existing tenant-based voucher contracts, to ensure the people and families who rely on an HCV or EHV to keep a roof over their heads do not lose their assistance. Check out the “EHV Funding Cliff Mobilization Toolkit” for more information, including talking points and resources. 
  • $4.922 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) program, and for HUD to stick to its commitment to a two-year Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Continuum of Care Program. 
  • $5.7 billion for public housing operations, and at least $5 billion to address public housing capital needs.  
  • $15 million for the Eviction Protection Grant Program (EPGP), as provided in the Senate’s spending bill. 
  • At least $1.3 billion for HUD’s Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program and $150 million for IHBG-Competitive funds, targeted to Tribes with the greatest needs.   

The toolkit includes talking points, advocacy materials, engagement ideas, and more resources for advocates to weigh-in with their members of Congress on the importance of these vital resources!    

• Emailing or calling members’ offices to tell them about the importance of affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources to you, your family, your community, or your work. You can use NLIHC’s Take Action page to look up your member offices or call/send an email directly! 
• Sharing stories of those directly impacted by homelessness and housing instability. Storytelling adds emotional weight to your message and can help lawmakers see how their policy decisions impact actual people. Learn about how to tell compelling stories with this resource.   

National, state, local, Tribal, and territorial organizations can also join over 2,800 organizations on CHCDF’s national letter calling on Congress to support the highest level of funding possible for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development resources in FY26.    

Visit NLIHC’s Advocacy Hub for more information and resources that can help you take action and help protect the affordable housing programs people rely on.