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The Senate returns this week from its month-long August recess. The House will be back in session beginning Tuesday of next week. Lawmakers face a lengthy to-do list with limited legislative days ahead of a potential federal government shutdown beginning October 1.
The Senate has 16 legislative days, and the House only has 11, to address substantive policy issues and agree on spending levels for government funding. In addition to government funding, Congress faces expirations to various Federal Aviation Administration and Farm Bill authorizations while also needing to conference the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) shared a Dear Colleague letter outlining the upper chamber’s priorities for September. Majority Leader Schumer plans to bring several spending bills to a floor vote by mid-September. As part of a minibus, senators will likely vote on the Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, and Agriculture-FDA Appropriations bills. “The Senate will work to get as much done as possible in September. To avoid a government shutdown, the House should follow the Senate’s lead and pass their appropriations bills in a bipartisan way,” said Schumer. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters that the farm bill will receive an extension as Congress has not made sufficient progress on the reauthorization. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is preparing to finalize the Senate’s version of the bill that “can be signed into law by the end of the calendar year,” she said. The White House is also seeking $40 billion in supplemental funding, with $24 billion in aid to Ukraine and $16 billion in natural disaster funding. This week, the Senate will vote on Philip Jefferson to be Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal System; Gwynne Wilcox to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board; Lisa Cook and Adriana Kugler to be Members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; and Anna Gomez to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission.
When the House returns next week, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will attempt to work with the most conservative members of the Republican Conference while negotiating with the White House and Senate to avoid a government shutdown. To do so, McCarthy plans to extend government funding at enacted FY 2023 funding levels for approximately four to six weeks, likely until November 1 or 15. In a recent private call with House Republican lawmakers, the Speaker urged support for the short-term spending deal to set up a later negotiation to include spending cuts and policy changes, including border security and immigration policy. On Appropriations, the House could begin floor debate on the FY 2024 State-Foreign Operations, Homeland Security, and Defense spending bills upon returning the week of September 11. Currently, the FY24 Defense Appropriations bill has over 300 amendments awaiting consideration by the House Rules Committee next week. The Speaker must also decide on whether various House committees will pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Many believe the inquiry will occur, but prospects of ensuring the necessary amount of votes remain uncertain.
For the remainder of the week, the Senate will hold several hearings, including a Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the “Challenges in the Property Insurance Market and the Impact on Consumers;” and an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing examining “Implementing IIJA: Perspectives on The Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, Part II.” In addition, on Tuesday, Rhode Island and Utah are holding special primary elections for current or soon-to-be vacant House seats in Rhode Island’s 1st congressional district and Utah’s 2nd congressional district.
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