The Senate returned for legislative business yesterday while the House is not scheduled to return to Washington for votes until Tuesday, September 13th– although some committees will hold hybrid committee business throughout this week. Legislative days are significantly limited in September, factoring in the later return of the House and the observance of Rosh Hashana. The Senate will be in session for 18 days this month, while the House only has 11 days on its calendar. When the House concludes legislative business on September 30th, it is not scheduled to return to Washington for votes until November 14th, after the midterm elections. The Senate is currently expected to be in Washington from October 11-14 and 17-21, although that time may be given back so Senators can return home to campaign.
The most pressing item the House and Senate will tackle in September is government funding. With no agreement expected from Congressional Appropriators for Fiscal Year 2023, which starts on October 1st, the House and Senate must pass a continuing resolution (CR) to continue government operations. The CR under discussion in the House would extend spending at roughly fiscal 2022 levels to December 16th, two and half months into the new fiscal year, with exceptions for a number of “anomalies” enabling higher funding rates for various programs, as is typical. The expiration date hasn’t been finalized and could still change with some already speculating on a March 2023 timeline for such an agreement. The current plan is for the House to consider the stopgap bill next week, leaving plenty of time to get it through the Senate and to President Joe Biden’s desk. The CR is expected to include the White House Supplemental which is seeking $47 billion in emergency funding covering military aid to Ukraine, Covid-19 pandemic relief, monkeypox virus, and disaster assistance. The CR also is likely to address energy permitting, which during negotiations on the Inflation Reduction Act, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) promised Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) a vote on a proposal covering energy permitting reform. The CR also needs to address a Food and Drug Administration user fee program that is set to expire on September 30.
On Friday, September 2, the Biden Administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released technical assistance and a summary document related to the potential contents of the continuing resolution.
This work period, Senate Democrats would also like to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill protecting marriage equality that received bipartisan support in the House, however, it may fall short of the Republican support needed in the Senate to bypass cloture. There have been further discussions about the Senate considering its version of the NDAA for FY 2023 (National Defense Authorization Act). Democrats may return to other legislative priorities that were not included in the Inflation Reduction Act, such as a provision setting an insulin cap for private insurance. Leader Schumer has also indicated that the Senate will take on a large number of judicial and executive branch nominees this work period. The short work period could push a host of other issues into November and December, including the Electoral Count Act, the National Defense Authorization Act and a final year end spending package.
For today, the Senate convened at 10:00 A.M. and is considering the nominations of John Z. Lee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit and Andre B. Mathis to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit.
