With Labor Day now in the rear view mirror, both chambers of Congress are scheduled to return to town next week.
Near the top of its “to-do” list, the Senate must take up all 12 of the spending bills for FY2020, which is scheduled to start on October 1. In an attempt to make progress, four of the 12 appropriations bills are scheduled to be act on at the full committee level next week: Labor-HHS-Education; Defense; Energy and Water; and State-Foreign Operations. In the House, nine of the 12 bills have been passed on the floor. Even if the Senate does make a significant amount of progress, it is likely that some kind of a continuing resolution will be needed before October 1 to keep the government funded past that date.
In addition, as a result of the mass shootings around the country in August, the issue of gun violence has become much more visible and a number of members have called on Congress to address it. It remains to be see whether or how the issue will be addressed legislatively this fall.