Congress returns from summer break Tuesday to reengage in the same partisan fights over the defense authorization and appropriations bills that were left on its plate before adjourning in July for a seven-week recess. They face a raft of urgent spending issues before they depart yet again to campaign for reelection in November, but none may be more important than funding to stop the spread of the Zika virus.
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The one big responsibility Congress can’t shirk is passing some kind of spending bill to keep the government running for the 2017 fiscal year, which begins on 1 October (see table, below).
Funds to combat the mosquito-borne Zika virus are also part of the spending talks. Republicans added a provision that would block Planned Parenthood clinics in Puerto Rico from receiving money to fight the virus, and Democrats blocked Senate passage of the bill. But dozens of Zika cases have been confirmed in the political battleground state of Florida since lawmakers departed, and Republicans and Democrats are expected to revive the fight nearly immediately upon their return.
The inability of the GOP-controlled House and Senate to pass the suite of appropriations bills to fund the government because of deep party divisions is one of the great ironies of this Congress. Riders and disagreements within his own conference had kept House Speaker Paul Ryan from being able to even pass a budget in the House, delaying the appropriations process. A group of conservatives, however, want a CR to expire next year, once a new president and new Congress are in office. If members aren’t satisfied, they could drag Mylan CEO Heather Bresch to Capitol Hill for hearings by the end of the month.
Republicans in the House are also expected to consider anti-terrorism-related bills, including legislation that would respond to the Obama administration’s 0 million cash payment to Iran, which Republicans have blasted as a ransom payment.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus will continue their push to impeach Internal Revenue Services Commissioner John Koskinen, a fight that started over a year ago. Koskinen wasn’t commissioner at the time. She was held in contempt of Congress after refusing to testify to a House committee and eventually retired. But those efforts have stalled in both chambers. Presumably, they will first want to approve whomever Clinton nominates to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, and they’ll be busy confirming hundreds of Clinton appointees to top government jobs-not to mention advancing the new president’s top legislative agenda items. There are several Senate and House races nationwide that could be decided based on how voters choose their Presidential picks.
-Trade: Republican leaders have supported a sweeping Asia-Pacific trade deal backed by President Barack Obama, but it is opposed by most congressional Democrats and both major presidential candidates.
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Democrats and some Republicans favor getting the work done before the end of the year, by passing a short-term patch and then grinding out a final comprehensive agreement after the November 8 election in a lame duck session.
