Congress returned to Washington this week and, somewhat surprisingly, quickly took one of its biggest year-end fights off the table—at least for now.

On September 1, the House overwhelmingly approved a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that will keep the federal government funded through December 11. The legislation had already passed the Senate and now heads to the president for his signature.

The fact that Congress needed a continuing resolution is hardly surprising. Congress rarely completes all 12 annual appropriations bills before the September 30 end of the fiscal year, and a temporary funding measure was widely expected. What is unusual is the timing.

Rather than waiting until the final days before the September 30 deadline, as Congress so often does, lawmakers acted roughly four weeks early. With the midterm elections approaching, members of both parties had little appetite for another government shutdown—or even several weeks of uncertainty about whether one might occur. Instead, Congress has pushed the larger funding debate until after Election Day.

For supporters of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), there are two particularly important consequences.

First, the CR keeps the NEA operating under its current fiscal year 2026 funding level of $207 million while Congress continues negotiations over a final FY2027 appropriations package. That is welcome news, but it is important to remember what a continuing resolution does—and what it does not do. It preserves the status quo temporarily. It does not resolve the debate over FY2027 funding for the NEA.

Second, the legislation provides an important, if temporary, safeguard for the federal grant-making process.

Earlier this year, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed changes to governmentwide grant rules that would give senior political appointees a substantially greater role in reviewing federal grant awards. Among other provisions, the proposal would require agencies to establish processes for senior political appointees to review discretionary grants before awards are made.  It  would also give agencies greater latitude to ensure grants align with the President’s priorities.

The proposal has generated bipartisan concern in Congress about the potential politicization of federal grant making. The continuing resolution temporarily prevents OMB from implementing the proposed changes through December 11. The provision is not specific to the NEA, nor does it permanently resolve the question of how federal grants will be reviewed.  However, it prevents those proposed governmentwide changes from taking effect for now.

Taken together, these developments provide a measure of stability for the next several months. But they should not be mistaken for a resolution of the larger debate. Congress still must determine funding levels for the NEA and virtually every other federal agency for the remainder of FY2027.

That makes continued advocacy especially important. As Congress negotiates a final funding package, policymakers need to continue hearing not only about the importance of funding the National Endowment for the Arts, but also about the value of the federal-state partnership at the heart of the agency’s work.

Under that partnership, 40% of the NEA’s grant-making funds are allocated to state and  jurisdictional arts agencies and regional arts organizations, ensuring that federal arts funding reaches communities across the country while allowing states to make funding decisions responsive to their own communities and priorities.

For now, Congress has bought itself—and the arts community—some time. But December 11 will arrive quickly, and the coming months remain critical to making the case for a strong NEA and preserving the federal-state partnership.