January 15, 2026
By Kristen Granchelli – SVP, Government Affairs and Public Policy
Since the record 43-day governmentshutdown ended in mid-November, we have been on a Continuing Resolution or CR that simply extends FY25 funding and authorization levels during FY26 while FY26 funding negotiations are still ongoing. However, the current CR expires January 30, at which point there are, as always, only three forks in the road: a full year FY26 bill is passed, another CR is passed, or another shutdown occurs. And we are T-15 days from that funding deadline.
Now where do things stand in the progress toward a FY26 full year funding bill? Keep in mind that Congress divides government funding into 12 separate funding bills. The House has alreadyapproved eight bipartisan FY26 funding bills as of today (January 15)—one of those bills is the Financial Services-General Government (FSGG) bill, which was just passed in the House yesterday afternoon. The FSGG bill provides for SBA funding and program authorizations—including the 7(a) Loan Program authorization cap, the Secondary Market Guarantee Program authorization cap, Agency funding that allows for 7(a) to be operational, and OCRM funding, to name a few key provisions. So, yesterday saw great progress for SBA FY26 funding, crossing that first legislative hurdle in the House. The FY26 FSGG bill now heads to the Senate.
Before we get to what happens in the Senate, let’s talk about what is in this FSGG bill for the 7(a) lending industry. There is $35.5 billion in authorization for the 7(a) Program– that’s a slight bump up from the $35 billion authorization the program has seen for the last several years. And that authorization should be more than sufficient to accommodate expected FY26 volume. NAGGL was successful in working with Congress to maintain a one-cap structure for the program (as opposed to separating authorization for non-manufacturing loans and manufacturing loans as was originally proposed by the House) and to ensure there is enough wiggle room in the authorization to accommodate potential 7(a) volume. Another important flag in this bill is the $15 billion authorization cap for the Secondary Market Guarantee Program, which should be sufficient to accommodate expected FY26 pooled sales—another issue NAGGL’s advocacy efforts focus on every year.
What could Senate timing look like and will the FSGG bill pass before the deadline on January 30? Today, the Senate is voting on several different funding bills the House already passed (Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior and Energy and Water), and which are expected to successfully pass in the Senate. And then, the Senate goes into recess next week. That leaves the last week in January for the remaining funding bills to pass the Senate. And there are questions related to whether the Senate might need to combine several funding bills in order to work within the compressed schedule ahead of the January 30 deadline. One issue to watch is if the Homeland Security funding bill, which has many controversial issues, is combined with FSGG and other funding bills or not, and if that could slow progress. While those questions remain, there is real momentum and optimism in DC right now when it comes to funding progress. As of today, there is no expectation of a shutdown, but expect the last week to be a sprint to the finish line. NAGGL will be carefully watching and keeping you updated along the way.
