January 7, 2026 — U.S. Congressional appropriations leaders have included several fisheries and aquaculture provisions in a recently released bipartisan budget bill for the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is part of a package of bills that need to pass by the end of January to avoid another government shutdown.
The legislature is months behind schedule in passing appropriations legislation for the fiscal year of 2026, having missed the 30 September deadline and plunging the nation into a government shutdown for several weeks. Lawmakers finally passed a short-term spending bill in November to reopen the government, but that funding is set to run out 30 January. With just a few weeks left to authorize more federal funding, Congressional leaders from the House and Senate appropriations committee have negotiated and released a trio of appropriations bills that will fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.