Continuing Appropriations and Extensions and Other Matters Act, 2026

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress has explicit authority to appropriate funds under Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 and to lay and collect taxes and provide for the general welfare under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1. Continuing FY2026 appropriations, extending the premium tax credit, funding Medicaid, and authorizing District of Columbia local spending under Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 fall within those powers.

Bill of Rights · passes

No provision restricts speech, religion, press, assembly under the First Amendment, arms under the Second Amendment, or imposes searches under the Fourth Amendment. Funding health exchanges and Medicaid expands access and does not compel speech or seize property.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill does not restrict personal conduct, property use, labor, speech, or belief. It funds government operations and extends tax credits and Medicaid support, which leave individual choice to purchase exchange coverage intact. No compelling-justification test is triggered because no individual liberty is burdened.

Decentralization · passes

Funding existing federal agencies through a temporary continuing resolution maintains the minimum necessary federal level and does not create a new federal regulatory regime. While health finance can involve states under the Tenth Amendment, this bill continues existing joint federal-state programs and limits central withholding power, rather than consolidating new decision-making upward.

Due process and takings · passes

No criminal penalty, forfeiture, or property seizure without notice and hearing under the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause. No taking without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause. Limiting Office of Management and Budget withholding and extending availability of withheld funds strengthens procedural regularity and the Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 requirement that funds be drawn only pursuant to appropriations.