NCBA makes final push for 2026 co-op program funding ahead of January 30 deadline

Over the last week, NCBA spent time on Capitol Hill meeting with House and Senate offices to make the case that co-ops are a practical, community-rooted solution for the challenges that Congress is trying to solve. For cooperatives across all sectors, Congress' appropriations process directly determines whether the programs that help co-ops start, scale and serve their members will be available in the year ahead. As lawmakers race to finish FY26 spending bills ahead of the January 30 deadline, our team continues to engage with key offices to keep co-ops front and center in the final negotiations.

Congress is currently in the final stretch of the FY26 appropriations process. The House advanced the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs (SFOPS/Nat Sec) bill by passing it in a package that also contained the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) spending bill. The Senate is expected to consider this during the last week of January, when Senators return from this week's recess.

Congressional priorities heading into the January 30 deadline

Last Thursday, the Senate approved a three-bill "minibus" appropriations package that contains FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS), Energy-Water, and Interior-Environment spending bills. It now heads to the president's desk for enactment. On early Tuesday morning, negotiators released the final four-bill package covering Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS), and Transportation-Housing (T-HUD). The focus is now on the Senate, which is expected to be back in session next week.

Over the course of more than a dozen meetings with a bipartisan mix of House and Senate offices, our team focused on ensuring co-ops' visibility in the FY26 appropriations conversation by highlighting the federal tools that co-ops rely on to ensure that they are not overlooked or forgotten. We met with several key offices, including the Chair of the National Security, State Department, and Related Programs Subcommittee, Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, as well as Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, Representative Rosa DeLauro. On the Senate side, we met with the office of the Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Patty Murray. During these conversations, our team advocated for the inclusion, recognition and security of programs that matter most to our members.

Conversations this week centered around key programs within FY26 appropriations bills that are actively moving through Congress including: the Cooperative Development Program (CDP); the Department of Labor's Employee Ownership Initiative; the CDFI Fund; and report language directing the Small Business Administration to develop a publicly available succession planning toolkit that includes cooperatives as a tool for retiring business owners. We reinforced the fact that co-ops multiply federal dollars because every successful cooperative is anchored by members investing their own time, capital and accountability.

New co-op inclusions in FY26 appropriations bills

As a result of these meetings, we were pleased to see the following inclusions made for FY26:

Department of Labor Employee Ownership Initiative: $2,000,000

These grants help establish and expand employee ownership programs, supporting co-op conversions and other shared-ownership pathways that help keep businesses local as owners retire.

Cooperative Development Program (CDP): $13,875,000

CDP expands the reach of U.S.-based cooperative development implementors overseas, where co-ops can help build resilience, wealth and financial security in local communities.

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund: $324,000,000

The CDFI Fund expands access to capital in underserved rural and urban communities. Because co-ops struggle to meet the lending requirements of the SBA's programs, the CDFI Fund offers a funding mechanism that helps finance cooperative startups, expansions and member-serving needs.

The FY26 appropriations also included Congressional directives for the Small Business Administration to develop a publicly available online toolkit that can be used by the SBA and its resource partners, including Small Business Development Centers, to guide small business owners through the process of creating a business succession plan, connect owners with relevant resources and provide information on employee ownership options, including Employee Stock Ownership Plans and cooperatives, as a succession planning strategy.

Representing co-ops at a Senate small business hearing

In addition to appropriations, we were encouraged to see co-ops represented in the policy dialogue at the Senate Small Business hearing on January 14th, featuring Erbin Crowell, Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Associationas a witness, where cooperative development and the role of employee ownership and shared enterprise models received meaningful attention. During his testimony, Crowell emphasized the value and importance that federal programs have on the cooperative ecosystem. "Support directed to cooperatives can have multiplier effects: it benefits not just one enterprise, but all member-owners, which can go up to the hundreds, or even thousands," he said.

Watch the hearing Read Crowell's testimony

For co-ops, the opportunity is immediate and practical; the programs we advocate for on the Hill help launch new cooperatives, strengthen existing ones and expand technical assistance that co-ops can use to meet member needs. In the weeks ahead, the NCBA team will be back on the Hill to keep the pressure on Congress to maintain momentum, and we'll share updates and action alerts as FY26 bills take shape. To stay informed, watch out for NCBA advocacy alerts and be ready to amplify the co-op message with your own congressional outreach as negotiations move forward.

For more information on NCBA CLUSA's advocacy priorities and resources, visit ncbaclusa.coop/advocacy or contact [email protected].