5 Things to Watch in Congress in September

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill from a monthlong recess on Sept. 9 to work through an ambitious to-do list on a tight deadline.

Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government by passing new spending bills or agreeing to an extension.

However, lawmakers will also have other agenda items to address, including China, defense, and agriculture.

Hanging over all of this is the election, which will be 57 days away once lawmakers return and is likely to affect their actions and rhetoric.

Here are five things to watch for in September.

Spending

Congress’s top priority is to pass a bill that funds the government after Sept. 30, or it will shut down. The bill, however, may not pass due to a dispute about voting rights.

Congress is likely to miss the Sept. 30 deadline to pass its regular funding bills for Fiscal Year 2025. As a result, it will need to pass a “continuing resolution” (CR), which temporarily funds the government at levels set for the previous year without authorizing new spending.

The composition of the CR is what’s dividing Congress at present, leading to fears of a shutdown. Republicans want to include in the CR a bill known as the “SAVE Act,” which Democrats oppose.

The SAVE Act would require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship at the time of registration, which Republicans argue is necessary amid high levels of illegal immigration. Democrats argue the bill would disenfranchise American citizens for minor clerical errors during voter registration.

The House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act on July 10, with 216 Republicans and five Democrats voting in favor. Many Senate Democrats, who control the body, have not publicly opposed the SAVE Act, though they are unlikely to accept a CR that includes it.

Only five of the regular 12 appropriations bills—which allocate money to different parts of the federal government and set conditions for how it is spent—have passed the House. The Senate has advanced 11 of the bills to the floor, though none have been passed yet. Senate versions differ from the House’s, requiring further negotiations to reach compromise versions that can pass Congress.

Moreover, Republican lawmakers are seeking a long CR that would run into the next president’s term. Then, if former President Donald Trump wins the election and the GOP gains control of Congress, they would be able to enact more conservative funding bills. This is likely to be another area of disagreement with Democrats, who may seek a shorter CR that ends after the election.

Republicans and Democrats often disagree about funding priorities, and Congress has routinely been unable to pass all 12 bills in time. Fiscal Year 1997 was the last time Congress completed the budgeting and appropriations process before the Sept. 30 deadline. If Congress cannot pass a bill by then, the government will shut down.

China Bills

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The over 30 China-related bills to be considered cover a wide range of topics, including protecting U.S. farmland, trade secrets, critical infrastructure, and advanced technology.

“From economic and academic espionage to intellectual property theft, unfair trade practices, and U.S. land grabs, the threats posed by Communist China must be confronted with strength,” said Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) of the planned blitz of counter-CCP bills.

“This week’s legislation aims to bolster our national security, protect American economic interests, defend our sovereignty, and secure our future,” he said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

Tiffany’s legislation, one of the China week bills, would counter a proposed pandemic treaty that critics say would give the CCP-linked World Health Organization (WHO) too much control over U.S. domestic affairs.

Tiffany’s bill would require a Senate vote before the United States adopts any proposed measures under the treaty, which he said “will protect our sovereignty and ensure that the safety of our citizens remains in the hands of the U.S., not a corrupt international organization.”

Several of these bills simply order studies into an issue, with some matters requiring more action—like restricting outbound investment to China and ending the de minimis privilege (which exempts shipments under $800 from tariffs) on Chinese goods—left out entirely.

With the Republicans’ four-seat majority, it’s unclear how these bills will fare in the House.

Partisan riders attached to the wide-ranging bill, including measures addressing abortion and gender transitioning, could fuel debates slowing the bill’s passage. The divided House and Senate will also have to reconcile their different NDAA proposals before they can send a final bill to the president’s desk.

While actual funding is authorized in a separate bill, the NDAA lays out the broad policies, purchases, and initiatives that Congress wants the Pentagon to pursue.

Much of the NDAA deals with vehicles, technology, and weapons procurement that will continue from one year to the next. The NDAA also addresses quality-of-life issues that affect military personnel, such as housing and childcare programs.

Still, the NDAA can become a political arena, with lawmakers vying for more partisan policy riders to include or exclude in the scope of the national defense focus.

The House and Senate will have to reconcile their overall spending.

The House version of the NDAA plans for $895.2 billion in spending—roughly $50 billion more than President Joe Biden requested for 2025. The Senate’s version of the bill comes in at around $920 billion.

Farm Bill

Congress will work to push through a renewal of the Farm Bill. The current version is expected to be the most expensive ever, an estimated $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

The legislation, passed about every five years, funds land conservation projects and sets national policy on agriculture-related issues. It was up for renewal in September 2023, but has been a significant topic of contention between the left and the right.

The current House version of the bill would cut $30 billion from the SNAP program over the next 10 years, which critics say undercuts food security among low-income Americans.

Nevertheless, the bill has passed committee, receiving the support of four House Democrats in a 33–21 vote.

Meanwhile, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, has sponsored competing legislation in the upper chamber.

Some senators have said it’s likely Congress will need to pass another CR to extend the Farm Bill’s 2018 funding levels as bicameral disputes over its specifics continue.

VA Shortfall

On July 19, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) surprised members of Congress by reporting it was facing a $15 billion budget shortfall.

In response, House Republicans on Sept. 6 unveiled a bill to patch up at least some of the holes in the VA’s budget.

The money comes with strings attached. If the bill is enacted, VA Secretary Denis McDonough will have 30 days to submit a report to the Appropriations and Veterans Affairs committees in both chambers of Congress, detailing changes to the group’s budgeting and forecasting procedures.

Thirty days after that, he will have to submit a report detailing how the pension and compensation funds are being used. A similar report will have to be filed every 90 days until Sept. 30, 2026.

The bill also mandates an investigation into causes of the shortfall by the VA inspector general.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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