WASHINGTON — Both chambers of Congress return to Capitol Hill this week for a brief session before heading back to the campaign trail until mid-November. 

The House will be in for one week and the Senate for three, giving Republicans little time to enact any laws or confirm nominees before voters decide whether to give them another two years in power. 

Lawmakers have already agreed to fund the government through Dec. 11, pushing off any need to reach bipartisan agreement on the dozen annual appropriations bills or risk a government shutdown. 

But they haven’t reached compromise on several other measures and are unlikely to do so until at least the lame-duck session, which spans five weeks in November and December. 

Left undone

Congress has so far opted not to approve legislation that could provide tens of billions in additional funding for the Defense Department amid the war in Iran. 

The two chambers haven’t brokered compromise on the different versions of the annual defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. 

There’s no sign of significant progress on the years-delayed farm bill that is supposed to authorize agriculture and food aid programs. 

Republicans had discussed approving a third party-line package through the complex reconciliation process they used to enact their “big, beautiful” law and three years of funding for immigration enforcement. 

But the Senate needs to adopt a budget resolution before that process could begin and that doesn’t appear to be on the horizon this September. 

President Donald Trump’s insistence lawmakers approve nationwide voter registration and identification requirements is also not expected to become law, lacking the votes in the Senate to advance. 

AI stalemate

Lawmakers aren’t expected to make any progress on how to place guardrails on artificial intelligence amid increasingly dire warnings the technology could “kill us all” before the end of the decade.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash” that he wanted tech company executives to work with lawmakers on striking the right balance. 

“We cannot put a moratorium on this because China will overlap us, and that’s the challenge,” he said. “It’s national security balanced with the immediate security of making sure the models are safe.”

Johnson said he and others in Congress understood the possible ramifications of letting AI run as it is now, but added that “the people who are creating these models have to have to ensure that their products are safe.” 

“But we also at the same time have to resist Congress jumping in and imposing some sort of emergency moratorium,” he said. “It’s got to be done right, safely, wisely.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had a different take on AI, writing in a statement released Monday that administration officials should brief senators in a classified setting. 

“The American people deserve better from their government at such a consequential moment. I have long argued that we must keep the U.S. as the global leader in AI innovation and security. But that innovation must be coupled with serious guardrails that earn the trust of the American public,” Schumer said. 

“Warning bells are ringing louder than they ever have – and the Trump administration is looking the other way. Well, if they won’t hold themselves accountable, we will. And if Trump does not act, Congress must.”

Nominees on tap

The Senate does have several pending nominees on its list that it could push through in the coming weeks, including Keith Sonderling for labor secretary, Sean Kaufman for assistant secretary for preparedness and response, and numerous judges. 

How much Congress accomplishes following the midterm elections will likely depend on what those results show. 

Democrats are unlikely to negotiate major policy or spending bills with Republicans if voters give them control of both chambers come January. 

A mixed result, possibly Democrats regaining the House but Republicans keeping control of the Senate, could lead to some deal-making later this year. 

WASHINGTON — Republicans on the U.S. House Budget Committee approved their budget resolution Thursday, marking one small step forward in the complicated process that could allow the party to enact a third party-line bill. 

The 20-14 vote followed hours of debate over amendments from Democrats that sought to roll back pieces of the earlier Republican packages and change how the upcoming process would work. None of the Democratic changes were approved. 

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar and Virgin Islands Democratic Delegate Stacey Plaskett didn’t vote. 

House Republican leaders are likely to bring the budget resolution to the floor next week before that chamber leaves for its five-week August recess, now expected July 23. 

The Senate will be in session for an additional two weeks after that before beginning its summer break, though it isn’t clear if GOP leadership in that chamber will bring the budget measure up for a vote. 

Process to provide funds for defense, farms

Both chambers of Congress must adopt a budget resolution in order to unlock the budget reconciliation process that will allow them to move another bill without Democratic support. 

House Republicans said during committee debate they hope another package would provide up to $95 billion. That currently unreleased measure would bolster aid to farmers, provide more funding to the Defense Department and implement pieces of a voter identification bill they’ve dubbed the SAVE America Act. 

“We are going to use reconciliation to make a run at doing what we think will save this country for our children’s future and for the remainder of this century,” Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said. “I can’t think of a more important thing to work on.”

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle, ranking member on the committee, criticized Republicans for not focusing on how to make life more affordable for everyday Americans. 

“Over the last 18 months, we have seen where Republicans’ priorities are: trillions of dollars in tax cuts for billionaires, tens of billions of dollars for war and absolutely nothing for the American people,” Boyle said. 

Democratic changes rebuffed

Democrats offered more than a dozen amendments during debate, including one from Vermont Rep. Becca Balint that would have removed the instructions for the Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Republicans’ budget resolution, once approved by both chambers, would allow the Armed Services Committee to spend up to $60 billion and the Intelligence panel to spend up to $13 billion. 

“My colleagues use the deficit as a pretext to excuse increasing hunger and deepening poverty in this country,” Balint said. “They preach fiscal responsibility, and yet, when it comes to approving tens of billions of dollars in additional Pentagon spending, they are a rubber stamp.”

Michigan Republican Rep. Jack Bergman spoke against the proposal, saying the additional defense funding “is necessary to support our troops and supply them with the munitions and anything else they need to fight, win and return home safely.”

In addition to providing instructions for more defense spending, the budget resolution would allow the Agriculture Committee to write a bill that would provide up to $12 billion in additional aid to farmers. 

The Administration Committee would be able to spend up to $10 billion, likely to create a grant program for states that institute voter identification requirements. 

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans released their latest budget resolution Wednesday, the first step in a long and complicated process that could allow Congress to approve a third party-line bill. 

The 47-page document, once adopted by both chambers, would send instructions to four House committees to draft bills that would be bundled into a roughly $95 billion package. 

• The Administration Committee could provide a maximum of $10 billion that would likely create a grant program for states that institute voter identification requirements.
• The Agriculture Committee would be able to spend no more than $12 billion for farm aid.
• The Armed Services Committee could write a bill that gives the Defense Department a maximum of $60 billion to account for increased costs related to the war with Iran and other military actions taken by the Trump administration. 
• The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence would be able to approve up to $13 billion in new spending.

House floor votes as soon as next week

The House Budget Committee is scheduled to debate and vote on the budget resolution Thursday. It’s possible that is followed by floor debate and a vote to send the resolution to the Senate as soon as next week. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could hold a floor vote on the budget resolution in that chamber before its lawmakers depart for their August recess, though it wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday whether there is enough support among GOP senators to approve the measure. 

Thune has been skeptical about using for a third time the complex budget reconciliation process the party used to enact its “big, beautiful” law last year and provide $70 billion in additional spending for immigration enforcement earlier this year. 

Senate debate on the budget resolution is significantly different than in the House. It requires a marathon amendment voting session that typically lasts overnight and leads to tough votes for Republican senators facing reelection this November. By contrast, House floor debate likely won’t include votes on any amendments. 

Elections and defense

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., posted to social media shortly after the budget resolution was released that the reconciliation process would provide a way for Congress to change how elections work and appropriate more funding for defense. 

“Safeguarding American elections and strengthening our national defense are the most basic responsibilities of Congress and are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans,” Johnson wrote, before criticizing Democrats for voting against Republicans’ SAVE America Act.

It’s unlikely Republicans will be able to include the full text of that bill, which would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot, given the rules of the budget reconciliation process. 

Every provision in the package must have an impact on federal spending, revenue, or the debt that isn’t deemed “merely incidental” by the Senate parliamentarian.

House Budget Committee ranking member Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., wrote in a statement he plans “to fight like hell to make sure taxpayer dollars are being used to lower costs and make life better for American families, not to bankroll Trump’s giveaways to billionaires and endless wars overseas.”

“Republicans have already made life worse for American families and added trillions to the national debt,” Boyle wrote. “Now, this ‘America Last’ budget would add tens of billions more to the national debt to fund the most unpopular war in American history.”