Senate’s short-term funding bill provides temporary extensions for TMF, cyber data-sharing law
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks to the press in the U.S. Capitol on August 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. Senators worked through the night to pass a short-term funding extension. Finn Gomez/Getty Images
The continuing resolution that overwhelmingly passed the upper chamber this weekend would push the federal government’s funding deadline until Dec. 11.
The Senate approved a temporary funding measure this weekend that would provide a short-term extension for both the Technology Modernization Fund and a key cybersecurity law, although the proposal faces an uncertain future in the House.
The continuing resolution, which overwhelmingly passed the upper chamber in a 90-6 vote on Saturday morning, would punt funding for the federal government until Dec. 11. In lieu of further action and President Donald Trump signing such legislation, the government faces the likelihood of another shutdown beginning on Oct. 1.
The Senate-passed legislation, in part, extends the Technology Modernization Fund, a federal program that provides financial assistance to government technology projects. TMF was established in 2017 and helps support longer-term IT modernization initiatives while also having agencies pay back the investments that they received.
A Government Accountability Office report released last month found that TMF-funded projects have only resulted in about $13.5 million in savings through June 2025, although the watchdog estimated that 24 reviewed projects that received program funds between fiscal years 2018 and 2025 will result in roughly $1.06 billion in savings alone.
Saturday’s funding measure also provided a short-term extension for the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, a cornerstone cyber data-sharing measure that lets companies disseminate cyber threat intelligence with federal partners and one another while maintaining key legal exemptions. The law temporarily expired during the 43-day government shutdown late last year, although Congress passed a funding package in February that extended the statute through Sept. 30.
Trump administration officials have expressed a desire for lawmakers to extend the law for a prolonged period of time to enhance cyber information sharing.
National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross said during an event in May that the White House was “pushing for a long-term reauthorization” of the law, noting that the administration’s national cybersecurity strategy includes a focus on enhancing information sharing between the government and the private sector.
Lawmakers have moved to push the next federal funding fight until after the November midterm elections, although both chambers still need to come together to support one measure.
Saturday’s bill passed before senators departed for the August recess. The House, which is also slated to be out until Aug. 31, passed its own temporary funding measure on July 21. Senate Democrats, however, have called that bill a non-starter.