Congress embeds $348K in personal payments and a pay freeze in must-pass budget bill.
H.R. 9770 — Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027 · Filed by Tom Cole (R-OK) · Introduced Jul 18, 2026 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill continues federal government funding at 2026 levels through December 4, 2026, while Congress negotiates a full fiscal year 2027 budget. It covers all major departments (Defense, State, Interior, HHS, etc.) and includes specific provisions for Indian Health Service facilities, wildfire suppression, disaster relief, and Small Business Administration loans. The bill also makes two $174,000 payments to the widow and heirs of deceased members of Congress, and freezes cost-of-living adjustments for sitting members.
Why we flagged it
The core function is routine continuing appropriations (necessary government funding), but the bill carries two substantive riders that benefit sitting members of Congress directly: a freeze on their own cost-of-living adjustments and direct payments to families of deceased members—both provisions are unrelated to the stated appropriations purpose.
- Section 127 appropriates $174,000 each to the widow of Rep. David A. Scott and heirs of Sen. Lindsey O. Graham—direct payments to private citizens unrelated to continuing appropriations.
- Section 128 freezes cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for sitting members of Congress during the continuing appropriations period—a benefit to current members that is unrelated to agency operations.
What the text implies
- The $348,000 in direct payments to private individuals (deceased members' families) sets a precedent for embedding personal appropriations in must-pass continuing appropriations bills, potentially normalizing self-dealing riders.
- The COLA freeze benefits sitting members by preventing automatic salary increases, creating a perverse incentive for members to pass continuing appropriations rather than full budgets (which would trigger COLA adjustments).
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
widow of David A. Scott; heirs of Lindsey O. Graham; sitting members of Congress (COLA freeze benefit)