Congress returns for short stint before bolting again
Although it put off its annual funding fight, there's still pressure to produce.
Lawmakers from both chambers return to Washington this week for the final legislative push before the November midterm elections, the first time since July 23 that both chambers will be in Washington.
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chambers → return → Washington
The House is in session for its final week of legislative business before the election after Speaker Mike Johnson scrapped two previously scheduled weeks of votes.
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Johnson → scrap → votes
The Senate has three weeks of business ahead of it -- as no changes to the Senate schedule have been announced -- though it’s possible Majority Leader John Thune could decide to dispatch his members to the campaign trail earlier than planned as well.
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Thune → have → trail
The September session is often plagued by a looming government funding deadline.
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session → plague → deadline
But lawmakers have already passed a stopgap funding bill that President Donald Trump has signed to keep the lights on until Dec. 11, alleviating any immediate deadline pressure this month.
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Trump → pass → pressure
Senate Republicans are also increasingly unlikely to take up a massive budget bill before the midterms.
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Republicans → take → midterms
The move to kick the can on government funding and delay a potential budget reconciliation bill means both items could be at the top of a large pile of priorities facing lawmakers in the lame duck session.
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items → kick → session
But freedom from a fiscal showdown doesn’t mean lawmakers won’t feel the pressure -- both now and in the lame duck -- to produce.
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lawmakers → mean → duck
Here's what the House and Senate have ahead of them:
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House → have → them
Over the summer recess, new concerns were stoked about leadership at the top of the military following Dan Driscoll’s resignation as Army secretary.
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concerns → stoke → secretary
Larger concerns about strained military resources and funding for the war in Iran also became more pressing, as the conflict stretches into its seventh month.
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conflict → become → month
Legislators on both sides of the aisle will likely need to chart a path forward on military funding, especially as the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act continues to stall and the Senate has effectively thrown in the towel on Reconciliation 3.0 -- the $95 billion GOP package that aimed at replenishing the military as the Iran war drags on, as well as billions in relief for American farmers and some aspects of the SAVE America Act.
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war → need → Act
The NDAA doesn’t need to be approved until the end of the year, but if lawmakers don’t find a bipartisan path for it soon, they’ll add to a potential lame duck pileup.
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they → need → pileup
Next week, House Republicans will attempt to pass the Russia sanctions bill -- despite objections from many Democrats -- as GOP leaders will bring the bipartisan legislation to the floor under a rule, requiring only a simple majority for passage while also signaling that there isn’t sufficient bipartisan support in the House to suspend the rules and pass it via a two-thirds majority.
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leaders → attempt → majority
Though the House passed a budget resolution, it’s not clear whether Republicans in the Senate will attempt to take that up before they leave.
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they → pass → that
Doing so would expose members to potentially challenging votes in a vote-a-rama, and it's also not clear whether Thune even has the votes in his unruly majority to pass it.
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Thune → do → it
The House will also aim to close out its pre-election legislative blitz by debating several fraud-related measures on the floor this week, including the Preventing Ripoffs and Obtaining Oversight of Funds Act, another bill to protect taxpayers from healthcare fraudsters, and a bill to establish a National Fraud Enforcement Division within the Department of Justice under the authority of the attorney general.
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House → aim → general
A renewed focus on regulating artificial intelligence is also likely to come following reports this week that raise significant concerns about AI security.
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that → renew → security
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have demanded information from OpenAI and launched investigations.
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Lawmakers → demand → investigations
Crypto and NIL could come up:
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Crypto → come → ?
Other major bills could also finally get their time in the sun during this stretch of session.
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bills → get → session
The Senate is expected to take up a Name, Image and Likeness [NIL] bill as soon as this week.
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Senate → expect → week
A controversial bill aimed at regulating cryptocurrency could also find its way to the Senate floor, though that bipartisan legislation is currently plagued by concerns from Democrats that the bill includes ethics carve-outs that may be favorable to Trump.
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that → aim → Trump
It’s also not yet clear whether Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has not been on Capitol Hill since a June 14 fall put him in the hospital, will be present this week.
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fall → ’ → hospital
A spokesperson for McConnell did not provide an update when reached by ABC News on Friday.
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spokesperson → provide → Friday
Several high-level Trump officials are also slated to appear on the Hill this week.
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officials → slat → Hill
Senators on the Judiciary Committee will hear from FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday.
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Senators → hear → Tuesday
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is slated to appear before the House Financial Services Committee on the same day.
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Bessent → slat → day
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