Navigating the Appropriations Status Table

Updated August 28, 2025 (R47240)
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Summary

The CRS Appropriations Status Table is an online tool for tracking legislation that provides annual funding for federal programs, projects, and activities. It displays the status of regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, supplemental appropriations measures, and budget resolutions. This report describes how to access and navigate information presented on the Appropriations Status Table. A companion video is available on CRS.gov.


Overview

Congress produces annual appropriations legislation providing discretionary funding for a broad range of government programs, projects, and activities. The CRS Appropriations Status Table is an online tool for tracking such legislation. It displays the status of regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, supplemental appropriations measures, and budget resolutions.

This report describes how to access and navigate the information presented on the Appropriations Status Table. Similar information is available in CRS Video WVB00497, Navigating the Appropriations Status Table: A Video Guide, by Ben Leubsdorf, Justin Murray, and Carol Wilson. For general background on annual appropriations, see CRS Report R47106, The Appropriations Process: A Brief Overview, by James V. Saturno and Megan S. Lynch.

Accessing the Table

Congressional users can access the Appropriations Status Table at https://www.crs.gov/AppropriationsStatusTable/Index. The CRS.gov homepage includes a direct link (Appropriations Status Table) at the top of the Essentials list on the left side of the CRS.gov landing site.

Figure 1. CRS.gov Navigation Links

Source: CRS.gov, annotated screenshot.

Noncongressional users can access a public version at https://www.congress.gov/crs-appropriations-status-table. The Congress.gov homepage provides a direct link (Status Table) under the Bill Searches and Lists heading, directly below and on the right side of the main search box.1

Figure 2. Congress.gov Navigation Links

Source: Congress.gov, annotated screenshot.

Note: The "CRS Status Table" link, which is not visible to noncongressional users, points to the table on CRS.gov. The "Status Table" link points to the publicly accessible table on Congress.gov.

Navigating the Table

Users can select a fiscal year for the table using the drop-down menu at the top of the page. Archived tables are available back to FY1999.

An expandable Last Updated and other Notes section near the top of the page contains a timestamp for the table's last update and a list of major actions included in reverse chronological order on the table. Links to House and Senate reports that contain spending allocations to committees ("302(b)" reports), and CRS reports of general use for each fiscal year appropriations, also may appear at the top of the page.

Bills Passed shows how many regular appropriations bills have completed various stages of the legislative process, with expandable headings for House, Senate, Both Chambers, Vetoed, and Signed by President.

Additional Resources provides links to material from CRS and the Congressional Budget Office.

The main body of the table has four tabs: Regular Appropriations, Continuing Resolutions, Supplementals, and Budget Resolutions.

Figure 3. Appropriations Status Table

Source: CRS.gov/AppropriationsStatusTable/Index, screenshot.

Regular Appropriations

The Regular Appropriations tab displays the status of the 12 annual discretionary appropriations bills, which align with the jurisdictions of the 12 House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees.2 Omnibus (or consolidated) measures, which combine two or more of the regular bills, generally appear in rows at the top of the table. Standalone regular appropriations bills are listed alphabetically. When a standalone appropriations bill is incorporated into an omnibus measure, the standalone bill's entry on the table directs users to the entry for that omnibus measure. Also, if a standalone appropriations bill evolves into a vehicle for multiple discretionary appropriations bills (also known as a consolidated appropriations bill or an "omnibus"), entries for the bills in the consolidated measure will include a cross reference to the standalone entry ("see entry for [relevant consolidated] bill number") and any subsequent developments to the evolving consolidated measure. Click on the "NOTES +" button for each entry for more detailed information on the legislative evolution of each appropriations bill.

From left to right, the table provides information on major steps in the legislative process:3

(+) NOTES

At the bottom of each row on the table is a NOTES field. It is collapsed by default but can be expanded with a single click. It often includes links to committee press releases, brief explanations of procedural actions, breakdowns by division for omnibus/consolidated legislation, and information on locating an explanatory statement.

  • Bill name and number, links to information on Congress.gov, and links to CRS overview reports.
  • Dates and vote tallies for subcommittee action.
  • Dates and vote tallies for full committee action, with links to corresponding reports.
  • Dates and vote tallies for initial passage by the House and Senate, with links to roll call votes.
  • Dates and vote tallies for final passage by the House and Senate, with links to roll call votes. Links to conference committee reports or equivalent released information.
  • Date the President signed (or vetoed) the legislation and, if enacted, the public law number.

Example: FY2024 Energy and Water (E&W) Appropriations

A user looking for information on FY2024 appropriations for Energy and Water (E&W)-related programs would consult the fifth row of the 2024 table (see Figure 4), as well as the 11th row since E&W was included in the (first) enacted FY2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act that started out as the FY2024 Military Construction-VA bill (H.R. 4366).4

  • First column (Appropriation Bills): Links to H.R. 4394, S. 2443, and CRS Report R47553, Energy and Water Development: FY2024 Appropriations, by Mark Holt and Anna E. Normand.
  • Second column (Subcommittee Approval): House subcommittee approved the subcommittee draft bill by voice vote on June 15, 2023. Senate subcommittee did not markup a draft standalone FY2024 bill.
  • Third column (Committee Approval): House Appropriations Committee approved H.R.4394 by a vote of 34-24 on June 22, 2023. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its E&W bill, S. 2443, by a 29-0 vote on July 20, 2023. Links to committee reports that accompany the appropriations bills, H.Rept. 118-126 and S.Rept. 118-72.
  • Fourth column (Initial Passage): The House considered H.R. 4394, the E&W appropriations bill, on the floor of the House and passed the measure on October 26, 2023, by a roll call vote of 210-199. The initial passage column also includes a link to H.Res. 756, the special rule establishing terms for consideration of the appropriations measure on the House floor.5
  • Fifth column (Final Approval): The House considered the E&W bill as part of a consolidated measure H.R. 4366, which had passed the House on initial consideration as the stand-alone Military Construction-VA (MCVA) bill on July 27, 2023. The MCVA bill, which became the "FY2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act," passed the House on March 6, 2024, by a vote of 339-85, and the Senate on March 8, 2024, by a vote of 75-22.6
  • Sixth column (Presidential Approval): The President signed the FY2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act on March 9, 2024 (P.L. 118-42).7
  • The expandable NOTES + section for each entry on the table provides additional information: House and Senate Appropriations Committee press releases, legislative developments involving the related consolidated measures, and guidance on obtaining and navigating the explanatory statement information included in the House Committee Print that accompanied the final passed version of H.R. 4366 as amended.

Figure 4. FY2024 Energy and Water Appropriations Information

Source: CRS.gov/AppropriationsStatusTable/Index, annotated screenshot excerpted from the FY2024 table.

Continuing Resolutions

When regular appropriations acts are not enacted by the start of the federal fiscal year (October 1), one or more continuing appropriations acts (commonly known as continuing resolutions or CRs) may provide temporary spending authority for programs and activities that were funded in the previous fiscal year.8 The second table tab, Continuing Resolutions, provides information on CRs.9

The Continuing Resolutions tab has the same layout as the Regular Appropriations display.

Example: H.R. 5860, FY2024 Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act

The second entry row for FY2024 contains information on H.R. 5860, a short-term CR (see Figure 5).

  • First column (Appropriation Bills): The FY2024 Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act provided temporary continuing appropriations through November 17, 2023. This column includes a link to H.R. 5860 and three related CRS products.
  • Second column (Subcommittee Approval), third column (Committee Approval), and fourth column (Initial Passage) are all blank—the resolution did not go through subcommittee/committee consideration and instead was considered by each chamber just once (on final passage).
  • Fifth column (Final Approval): The House passed H.R. 5860 by a roll call vote of 335-91 on September 30, 2023; the Senate passed H.R. 5860 by a roll call vote of 88-9 on September 30, 2023.
  • Sixth column (Presidential Approval): The President signed the CR, designated as P.L. 118-15, on September 30, 2023.

Figure 5. H.R. 5860, FY2024 Continuing Resolution Information

Source: CRS.gov/AppropriationsStatusTable/Index, annotated screenshot.

Supplementals

The third table tab, Supplementals, contains information on appropriations measures that provide spending authority for selected activities outside of the regular appropriations process, such as disaster response and recovery.10

The Supplementals screen has the same layout as the Regular Appropriations screen.11

Example: H.R. 9468, FY2024 Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act

The first row for FY2024 contains information on a Veterans Benefits supplemental appropriations bill (see Figure 6).

  • First column (Appropriation Bills): FY2024 Veterans Benefits Continuity and Accountability Supplemental Appropriations Act. H.R. 9468.
  • Second column (Subcommittee Approval), third column (Committee Approval), and fourth column (Initial Passage) are all blank—the bill did not go through subcommittee/committee/initial consideration and instead passed each chamber just once (on final passage).
  • Fifth column (Final Approval): The House passed H.R. 9468 by voice vote on September 17, 2024. The Senate also passed the measure by voice vote two days later on September 19, 2024.
  • Sixth column (Presidential Approval): The President signed the bill, designated as P.L. 118-82, on September 20, 2024.

Figure 6. FY2024 Supplemental (H.R. 9468) Information

Source: CRS.gov/AppropriationsStatusTable/Index, annotated screenshot.

Budget Resolutions

The fourth table tab, Budget Resolutions, does not track appropriations legislation. Rather, this tab tracks consideration of the House-Senate agreement on a budget plan for the current or upcoming fiscal period.12 Congress can adopt a budget resolution for each fiscal year, but does not always do so, either because the chambers decide not to develop a resolution or because the chambers are unable to reach agreement on one.13

The layout of the Budget Resolutions screen is similar but not identical to the other screens. There is no column for Subcommittee Approval as budget resolutions are not originated by or referred to a subcommittee. Also, there is no column for Presidential Approval because a budget resolution takes the form of a concurrent resolution—the vehicle used to regulate the affairs of the House and Senate. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President for signature and thus do not become law. The Committee Approval column here refers to the House and Senate Budget Committees rather than the Appropriations Committees.

Example: S.Con.Res. 14, FY2022 Budget Resolution

For this table tab an example of a Budget Resolution from FY2022 is used as follows:

  • S.Con.Res. 14 was adopted as the budget resolution for FY2022 (see Figure 7).
  • First column First column (Budget Resolution): FY2022 Budget Resolution. Link to S.Con.Res. 14.
  • Second column (Committee Approval): blank; there were no committee votes.
  • Third column (Initial Passage): Senate adopted S.Con.Res. 14 on August 11, 2021, 50-49. House adopted S.Con.Res. 14 on August 24, 2021, 220-212.
  • Fourth column (Final Approval): blank; there was no need to reconcile different versions.
  • The expandable Notes section contains additional information, including an explanation of H.Res. 601, which provided for the automatic adoption of S.Con.Res. 14 by the House.

Figure 7. FY2022 Budget Resolution Information

Source: CRS.gov/AppropriationsStatusTable/Index, annotated screenshot.


Footnotes

1.

The CRS.gov version of the table contains additional features, such as links to related CRS reports.

2.

For more information, see CRS Report RL31572, Appropriations Subcommittee Structure: History of Changes from 1920 to 2025, by James V. Saturno.

3.

Consideration of a bill does not always involve all possible steps in the legislative process, so entries for individual measures may not include information in every column.

4.

Note that the entries displayed in Figure 4 below are excerpted entries from the online FY2024 Regular Appropriations table and were compiled as excerpts in the figure below to illustrate the path of final resolution for the measure(s).

5.

For more information on special rules, see CRS Report R48308, Special Rules in the House of Representatives: Purpose and Content, by Mark J. Oleszek.

6.

Click on the links to the roll call votes to see the complete roll call vote information. E&W is Division D in the consolidated bill. Click on the expandable "NOTE +" button for more detailed information on the evolution of the measure, including the other five FY2024 appropriations measures that appear in the final bill. The fifth column also includes a link to a House Committee Print (H. Comm. Print 56-550), which was released in lieu of a conference report and conference proceedings on the H.R. 4366 consolidated measure. The Notes field includes information on finding legislative, explanatory statement, and other information on the bill by individual division printed in the Congressional Record or in the House Committee Print typically released by the Appropriations Committee a few weeks after the bill is enacted.

7.

H.R. 4366, P.L. 118-42, was the first of two FY2024 Consolidated Appropriations Acts. The second act, H.R. 2882, P.L. 118-47, was enacted on March 23, 2024, and included the remaining six FY2024 appropriations bills.

8.

For more information, see CRS Report R46595, Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Practices, coordinated by James V. Saturno.

9.

Continuing resolutions (CRs) may be in the form of standalone measures or they can be part of a broader bill incorporating other matters. In some cases, regular appropriations bills may also contain provisions of continuing appropriations. In these cases, the bill containing the CR is included on both the Regular Appropriations tab and the Continuing Resolutions tab.

10.

For more information, see the "Supplemental Appropriations" section in CRS Report R47106, The Appropriations Process: A Brief Overview, by James V. Saturno and Megan S. Lynch.

11.

Regular appropriations bills or CRs that contain supplemental appropriations provisions are included on multiple sections of the table, as applicable.

12.

For more information, see CRS Report R46468, A Brief Overview of the Congressional Budget Process, by James V. Saturno.

13.

For more information, see CRS Report R44296, Deeming Resolutions: Budget Enforcement in the Absence of a Budget Resolution, by Megan S. Lynch.