Obligations incurred during the lapse are ratified
Making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, section 5, Sec. 5.
Written by .
Obligations incurred during the lapse are ratified
The document says “shall”Who acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 5 in the PDF
What the document says
“all obligations incurred and in anticipation of the appropriations made and authority granted by divisions A through D of the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 for the purposes of maintaining the essential level of activity to protect life and property and bringing about orderly termination of Government function, and for purposes as otherwise authorized by law, are hereby ratified and approved”
Section 117 of division A reaches backward. Bills run up during the lapse to protect life and property, or to shut operations down in an orderly way, are approved after the fact, so long as they fit the terms of divisions A through D.
What the document actually says
“all obligations incurred and in anticipation of the appropriations made and authority granted by divisions A through D of the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 for the purposes of maintaining the essential level of activity to protect life and property and bringing about orderly termination of Government function, and for purposes as otherwise authorized by law, are hereby ratified and approved”
That sentence, in plain words
Bills run up during the shutdown to keep people safe are approved now.
What this is about
Some work had to go on with no money in hand. That left costs behind. Congress says here that those costs were all right.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, Public Law 119-37, sec. 5, 139 Stat. 496 (2025). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ37/html/PLAW-119publ37.htm
This page
“Obligations incurred during the lapse are ratified,” Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, section 5, Sec. 5. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/continuing-appropriations-agriculture-legislative/proposal/sec05-lapse-obligations-ratified/ (retrieved October 10, 2026).
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