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Congress
returns
from
recess
as
Epstein
victims
meet
with
lawmakersA
bipartisan
group is
set to
meet
with
some of
his
victims
this
afternoon
as a
government
shutdown
deadline
looms.
Jim Lo
Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock |
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Congress
Returns
to
Washington
After
August
Recess,
Government
Shutdown
Looms
Li Haung
-
National-Politics
Tell Us
USA News
Network
WASHINGTON
-
Members
of
Congress
returned
to the
nation's
capital
on
Tuesday
following
their
traditional
monthlong
August
recess,
immediately
confronting
the
urgent
task of
preventing
a
government
shutdown
while
navigating
a packed
legislative
agenda.
The
Senate's
tentative
schedule
clearly
marks
August 4
through
September
1 as a
"State
Work
Period."
The
House
was on
recess
from
late
July
until
after
Labor
Day in
early
September.
The next
votes in
the
House
are
expected
Tuesday,
September
2,
marking
the
formal
resumption
of
legislative
business
on
Capitol
Hill.
Pressing
Deadlines
Await
Lawmakers
As
Congress
returns
to
Washington
this
fall
after a
monthlong
August
recess,
it will
have to
find a
way to
work
with
Democrats
or
around
them as
a
government
shutdown
looms.
The
immediate
priority
facing
both
chambers
is
addressing
funding
legislation
to keep
the
federal
government
operational
beyond
the
current
fiscal
year.
The
return
comes at
a
critical
juncture
for the
119th
Congress,
which
convened
earlier
this
year
following
the 2024
elections
that saw
Republicans
maintain
control.
Many of
these
initiatives
would
enact
campaign
promises,
from
border
security
to
rolling
back
clean
energy
policies
to
extending
tax
cuts.
However,
narrow
majorities
in the
House
and
Senate
leave
little
room for
dissent
within
the
GOP's
ranks.
Legislative
Agenda
Takes
Shape
Republican
leadership
has
outlined
an
ambitious
agenda
for the
fall
session.
The
Senate
is
expected
to have
... to
plot out
their
legislative
agenda
for two
budget
reconciliation
packages
– one to
address
border,
defense
and
energy-related
priorities,
providing
a
pathway
for
advancing
key
policy
priorities
with
simple
majority
votes.
The
reconciliation
process
offers
Republicans
a
mechanism
to
bypass
potential
Democratic
filibusters
in the
Senate,
though
the
narrow
margins
in both
chambers
mean
party
unity
will be
essential
for
success.
Extended
Session
Planned
Senate
Majority
Leader-in-waiting
John
Thune
plans to
have the
chamber
in
session
for 10
straight
weeks to
start
2025,
signaling
the
leadership's
commitment
to an
intensive
legislative
push
following
the
August
break.
The
August
recess
period,
a
long-standing
tradition,
allowed
lawmakers
to
return
to their
home
districts
and
states
to meet
with
constituents
and
assess
local
priorities
that
will
inform
their
work in
Washington.
Challenges
Ahead
As
Congress
reconvenes,
members
face the
dual
challenge
of
addressing
immediate
funding
needs
while
advancing
longer-term
policy
objectives.
The
combination
of tight
legislative
deadlines
and
narrow
partisan
majorities
is
expected
to test
the
leadership's
ability
to
maintain
party
cohesion
while
finding
workable
solutions
to
complex
policy
challenges.
The
coming
weeks
will
prove
crucial
in
determining
whether
Congress
can
effectively
navigate
these
competing
pressures
and
deliver
on the
legislative
agenda
that
voters
endorsed
in the
2024
elections.
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