Congress has bought itself ten weeks. Indian Country is watching the calendar.
On Sept. 2, 2026, President Trump signed H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, now Public Law 119-103. Section 106 keeps federal agencies funded through Dec. 11, 2026, unless full-year spending bills pass first. The Congressional Research Service notes that Congress must pass regular appropriations or another stopgap before then “to avoid a funding gap beginning on December 12, 2026.”
Here is what that means for tribal programs.
Indian health: mostly protected, with gaps
The Indian Health Service is in better shape than most agencies, thanks to advance appropriations. In a Sept. 9 letter to tribal and urban Indian leaders, IHS Director Mark Cruz wrote that last year’s spending law, P.L. 119-74, “provides $5.3 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2027 for most programs in the IHS Services and Facilities accounts.” Those funds became available on Oct. 1. The advance money, third-party collections and carryover funds “are not impacted by the pro-rata percentage applied by the continuing resolution,” Cruz wrote.
Not everything is covered. According to the letter, “health care facilities and sanitation facilities construction, the Electronic Health Record system, and the Indian Health Care Improvement Fund” did not get advance funding and are running at reduced pro-rata levels under the CR. IHS can fully fund contract support costs and tribal lease payments due during the CR period.
The bigger cliff is Dec. 31. The Special Diabetes Program for Indians, which funds diabetes prevention and treatment at tribal and urban Indian programs, is authorized only through the end of the year. The National Council of Urban Indian Health warned that “without further Congressional action, the program will lose all funding authority on January 1, 2027.” The council reported in May that the reauthorization bills, S. 2211 and H.R. 5461, were pending with bipartisan support.
BIA: a big gap between the House and the White House
For the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the CR largely continues fiscal 2026 levels while Congress argues over a full-year Interior bill. The House Appropriations Committee marked up its fiscal 2027 Interior bill on June 3. A summary from committee Democrats says it includes $3.2 billion for the BIA, “$721 million above the fiscal year 2026 enacted level and $1.1 billion above the budget request.” It includes $8.7 billion for IHS that becomes available in fiscal 2027, plus a $6 billion advance appropriation for fiscal 2028. The bill would fully fund contract support costs for both agencies.
The $1.1 billion gap between the House bill and the administration’s request for BIA shows how much is at stake in the final deal. No full-year Interior bill has been enacted.
What unrecognized tribes don’t get
For the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and the other California tribes Washington does not recognize, the budget fight is about money they are locked out of.
The BIA’s tribal government programs, contract support costs, self-governance compacts and lease payments flow only to federally recognized tribes. Unrecognized tribes are outside that system entirely, no matter how strong their history. The Muwekma, documented by the federal government as the Verona Band in the early 1900s and dropped in 1927, have been excluded from that relationship for nearly a century.
Health care is a partial exception, and it is a California-specific one. Under 25 U.S.C. § 1679, IHS eligibility for California Indians extends beyond members of recognized tribes. It includes “any descendant of an Indian who was residing in California on June 1, 1852,” if that person is part of the Indian community served by a local IHS program and is regarded as Indian by their community. That is why members of unrecognized California tribes can qualify for care at tribal and urban Indian clinics.
Eligibility as an individual is not the same as sovereignty. A tribe that is not recognized cannot contract or compact to run its own programs, cannot receive tribal shares, and has no government-to-government seat when IHS consults on how money is spent. When Congress sets these budgets, unrecognized tribes are spoken for, not heard.
The dates to watch
Dec. 11: The CR expires. Congress must pass full-year bills, including Interior-Environment, or another stopgap.
Dec. 31: The Special Diabetes Program for Indians expires without reauthorization.
The Muwekma Times will report on what Congress does before both deadlines, and on what it means for California’s tribes, recognized or not.
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