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Funding Bill Atop Priorities for House 09/01 06:24
House lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday with a short to-do list
after five weeks back in their home districts. The first order of business is
most likely a vote on a stopgap spending bill designed to keep the federal
government fully funded through early December, removing the possibility of a
shutdown before the midterm elections.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday with a
short to-do list after five weeks back in their home districts. The first order
of business is most likely a vote on a stopgap spending bill designed to keep
the federal government fully funded through early December, removing the
possibility of a shutdown before the midterm elections.
With election season getting underway, votes are also expected on measures
designed to amplify the GOP's messaging strategy going into November, most
notably a resolution condemning socialism. Republicans are trying to tie the
Democratic Party in general to the democratic socialist candidates who have
succeeded this year in running for office.
"The first thing is we've got to make sure this government gets funded and
we don't have another Democratic shutdown," Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters
as he prepared to open the chamber for business. The funding vote will most
likely take place Tuesday.
One significant item that did not make its way onto the House schedule this
week is a Senate-passed bill that imposes sanctions on key segments of the
Russian economy and allows President Donald Trump to impose steep tariffs on
goods imported from countries that buy the vast majority of Russian oil and
gas. The effort led by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham aims to deprive Russian
President Vladimir Putin of revenue used to finance the war against Ukraine.
The bill passed 86-11 in the Senate. House passage would send the bill to
Trump's desk for his signature. However, some key House Democrats oppose the
bill. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said the legislation risks providing
Trump and his administration with new sanction and tariff authorities that "we
believe they will abuse."
"I have serious concerns with the legislation," he told reporters.
The return to Washington also brings a renewed focus on improper behavior by
lawmakers as the House will have its first chance to act on a recommendation
from the House Ethics Committee to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., for
engaging in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two
young female aides in his congressional office.
Edwards implores colleagues to reject censure vote
Edwards has disputed the committee's conclusion that he failed to adhere to
the spirit of the rules prohibiting sexual harassment and unwanted advances
toward House staffers. He points to the committee's conclusion that found no
evidence he "engaged in sexual activity or explicitly propositioned any
individual under his employ."
Edwards said he was not asking lawmakers to approve of every gift,
compliment or social interaction, but to distinguish between conduct that
someone might find unconventional and conduct that actually establishes sexual
harassment.
"Individual acts that were not themselves prohibited were gathered together,
assigned the most damaging possible interpretation, and then used collectively
to support a conclusion far more serious than the underlying evidence," Edwards
wrote in a letter to colleagues first reported by NOTUS.
The committee said Edwards provided the two staffers with lavish and
recurrent gifts, made comments regarding their dress and appearance, invited
them to intimate dinners and vacations, sent notes regarding his effusive
affection and invited them to other activities as a way to spend time together.
A vote to censure registers the House's deep disapproval of a lawmaker's
conduct that does not meet the threshold for expulsion. Edwards dropped his
reelection plans after the committee's report came out.
Lawmakers are working to avoid another shutdown
The short-term funding bill underwent some significant changes in the
Senate, which made it more palatable for Democrats. It delays a proposed rule
from the Office of Management and Budget that would give political appointees
more power over the distribution of federal grants. It also includes language
to ensure the administration can't transfer funds to the Border Patrol.
But a provision that delays for one month a federal ban on intoxicating hemp
THC products has prompted criticism from many GOP lawmakers. As a result, GOP
leaders will likely place the bill on a fast-track process that avoids a
separate procedural vote, bypassing any Republican efforts to block or stall
the legislation. Suspension bills require a two-thirds vote to pass, meaning a
significant number from both parties need to support the measure for it to pass
and advance to Trump's desk.
Lawmakers are anxious to avoid the possibility of a shutdown as voters weigh
their options going into November. The funding bill passed by a 90-6 vote in
the Senate, showing that lawmakers from both political parties want to avoid a
repeat of the two historic shutdowns that occurred this past year.
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