From Reconciliation to Appropriations...Where are we now?

Last year Congress concurrently conducted two separate budget processes: 1) Annual appropriations, which determines discretionary yearly spending for federal programs like Head Start, the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and 2) A reconciliation tax and spending bill, which affects mandatory spending for programs like Medicaid and SNAP. On July 8, 2025, Congress passed the reconciliation bill (H.R.1) which puts millions of children and families at risk of losing access to critical safety net services, as well as shifts costs for these programs onto states. Learn more below.


What is the difference between appropriations and reconciliation?

  • Appropriations: An annual appropriations process that determines federal discretionary spending. This process requires negotiation between the House and Senate. Learn more here.
  • Reconciliation: A special legislative process created as a result of the 1974 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act that allows for expedited consideration of tax, spending, and debt limit legislation. Thus, a reconciliation bill can avoid the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold and instead allows lawmakers to pass legislation with a simple majority. Learn more here.

Where are we now?

FY2026 Appropriations

  • January, 2026
    • Congressional leaders released the final bipartisan funding package that would provide full-year Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, HHS, and Education, and Transportation and HUD appropriations. Thus far, Congress has passed 6 of the 12 regular appropriations bills for FY 2026. Read the funding package summaries here.
  • September, 2025:
    • On Tuesday, September 30 Congress failed to agree on a budget package that would fund the federal government through late October or early November. As a result, the federal government shut down for a record 43 days, ending on November 12 after Congress passed a temporary spending package that funded the government through January 30.
  • May, 2025:
    • The President released his FY26 budget proposal which largely held the line on total spending while massively increasing investments in defense and border security. Funding for Head Start, the Social Services Block Grant, and the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) received small cuts or flat funding while other programs like the Preschool Development Block Grant (PDBG), the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Community Services Block Grant were proposed for elimination. Click here for overviews and here for more details.
  • March, 2025:
    • Congress passed another CR to fund the government through September 30, 2025, which included a decrease in non-defense spending, increase in defense spending, and provision that made it more difficult to oppose tariffs.

The Shutdown Will Have A Ripple Effect Putting Children and Families at Risk of Further Instability

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (October 8, 2025), On Tuesday, September 30 Congress failed to agree on a budget package that would fund the federal government through late October or early November. As a result, the federal government is now shut down until policymakers can find middle ground. The impacts of this shutdown are significant and widespread.

  • Thousands of federal employees have been furloughed, national parks are closed, and airports across the country face mass staff shortages.

  • Child care subsidy programs, Head Start, and WIC programs may not see immediate impacts because they were able to receive their contracts and funds prior to October 1 for this coming year.

  • However, new Medicaid and Social Security applicants and renewing CalFresh vendors who support their local communities may experience administrative delays.

For California’s children, families, and providers, many of whom rely on federal assistance programs to keep their doors open or put food on their tables, the future becomes more uncertain the longer a shutdown lasts. While our federal policymakers remain at a standstill, Americans across the country are facing the brunt of the consequences.

Working families in California already struggle with HIGH costs of living and low wages. Many must choose between paying rent or putting food on the table. Further cutting access to affordable health care, child care, nutrition, and housing will have a domino effect that puts thousands of families at risk of poverty, homelessness, and economic insecurity.

We cannot continue to use the health and wellbeing of children and families as political pressure points. We need our social service programs to work in tandem. We need deeper state investments and protection from federal cuts and we need our policymakers to take a stand with us to prioritize people over politics or profit. The Network asks others to join us in calling on our Congressional representatives' to prioritize families and children above adding to the pockets of billionaires!


Linda Asato
Executive Director
California Child Care Resource & Referral Network (Network)
lasato@rrnetwork.org
415-494-4640 Direct Line
415-882-0234 Main Line

Reconciliation

On July 4, the President signed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) into law, making massive, widespread changes to our country's spending. Earlier in the spring, the House and Senate agreed on a budget blueprint which required committees to find a total of at least $4 billion in 'savings' over the next decade, resulting in massive cuts to critical social programs like Medicaid and SNAP.Over the next three months the House and Senate ping ponged the bill between houses, reaching a final agreement on July 3.While a number of provision were excluded in the Senate version due to the Byrd Rule, the final package still included over $1 trillion in cuts to health care and $186 billion in SNAP cuts through 2034. In California alone the Big Beautiful Bill will...

  • Take away health care from 13.6 million Californians, including 3.5 million children. [CBPP]
  • Take food off the table for 11.4% of California households facing food insecurity. [CBPP]
  • Push 57,000 Californian families, seniors, and children back into hunger and poverty each year with devastating cuts to SNAP. [CBPP]
  • Force the State of California to find an additional $15.5 billion in its own budget to make up for lost federal funding. [CBPP]

More resources on the OBBBA:

  • What is Reconciliation? Reconciliation 101 [Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget]
  • When Will the OBBBA Provisions Take Effect? Check out this detailed timeline [The Center on Budget & Policy Priorities]
  • What's in the OBBBA? Summary of OBBBA provisions [Holland & Knight Analysis]
  • How Budget Cuts Could Impact Californians [California Budget & Policy Center]
    • Medicaid is a critical support for the Early Childhood Education Workforce [Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy]
    • How Medicaid and SNAP Cutbacks in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Would Trigger Big and Bigger Job Losses Across States [Commonwealth Fund]
    • Senate Follows House Lead on SNAP Cuts Proposal: A Direct Threat to Families, Communities, and the Economy [FRAC]

JULY 8, SAN FRANCISCO - On July 4, 2025 President Trump signed into Law the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Together, Congress and the President made an agreement that cuts over $1 trillion dollars from our health care system and $297 billion in food assistance to offset massive increases in defense spending for mass deportations and detention centers and to pay for tax cuts for the ultra wealthy and corporations.

We are deeply concerned and profoundly disturbed by the cuts in the so-called One Big Beautiful Reconciliation Bill! Let’s be clear… the American people did not ask for this. We hold accountable our California House Representatives who voted for legislation while acknowledging that it will devastate their communities for years to come. That is not sensible leadership and rather cruel abuse of decision making power and public resources.

In California alone…..

  • The Big Beautiful Bill will take away health care from 13.6 million Californians, including 3.5 million children. [CBPP]

  • The Big Beautiful Bill will take food off the table for 11.4% of California households facing food insecurity. [CBPP]

  • The Big Beautiful Bill’s cuts to SNAP will push 57,000 Californian families, seniors, and children back into hunger and poverty each year. [CBPP]

  • The Big Beautiful Bill will force the State of California to find an additional $15.5 billion in its own budget to make up for lost federal funding. [CBPP]

The Bill’s passage will be felt across socio-economic divides, but the heaviest burden will be felt by working Americans who are already struggling to afford basic necessities, especially those already burdened by poverty, systemic racism, and the fallout of past disinvestment. The tactical implementation - e.g. staggering cuts both after the 2026 election or after 2028, and the expiration of taxes on tips and overtime pay after December 2028 - are all timed to hide the deliberate impact of hurt on working people and preserve the power to the richest and most compliant lawmakers.

Despite its title, this bill is not beautiful. It undermines the health, safety, and economic stability of families and opposes the values of a country that claims to care about children and working people. These are not just line items, These are LIFELINES!

For over 40 years resource and referral agencies have stood as pillars within their community, serving as trusted support systems for local families, children, and child care providers. Every year they connect thousands of people with free services, one-on-one assistance, child care referrals, and professional development training. More than anyone, they know that helping people requires compassion, understanding, and support, not deeper cuts and more red tape.

The Big Beautiful Bill sets us back decades of hard-fought progress but together with our members and partners, we will continue working toward our shared vision of an equitable future while rejecting antiquated policies that only perpetuate our existing systems of oppression and exclusion.


Linda Asato
Executive Director
California Child Care Resource & Referral Network (Network)
lasato@rrnetwork.org
415-494-4640 Direct Line
415-882-0234 Main Line

Linda Asato, Executive Director of the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network (Network)