Lawmakers are returning to Washington, D.C. today facing the looming risk of a government shutdown in the near future as both parties prepare for an election season spending fight.
After a full month away from Washington, lawmakers have just 21 days to come to an agreement to keep the government open before the Sept. 30 funding deadline.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson tours the United States border wall in San Ysidro, Calif., on July 25, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
The first week back, dubbed “China Week” by Republican leadership, will see the House consider a flurry of bills designed to counter the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Over the recess, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) office released 30 bills that would be considered as part of the initiative, touching on topics ranging from protecting U.S. farmland and trade secrets to bolstering critical infrastructure, and defending U.S. advanced technology from the CCP.
After this, all attention in Washington will turn to the approaching funding deadline.
Historically, September funding deadlines have been addressed through a continuing resolution (CR), a stopgap funding bill that keeps the government running at the previous year’s funding levels.
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Last week, House Republicans unveiled their plan, backed by Johnson, to keep the government open.
The Republican proposal includes a six-month funding extension that would keep the government running into early 2025.
However, that proposal also includes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill designed to strengthen safeguards against voting by illegal immigrants, and one which Democrats oppose.
Republicans say that the bill would provide crucial new safeguards in American elections by overruling a 2013 Supreme Court order barring states from verifying citizenship. Democrats have dismissed the bill as an effort at voter suppression.
The SAVE Act has the strong backing of former President Donald Trump, upping the pressure on Republicans to pass the legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was quick to signal his opposition to the legislation, which he obliquely referred to in a Dear Colleague letter as a “poison pill.”
Schumer said that Democrats’ focus would be on rail safety legislation and efforts to cut the cost of insulin and other prescription drugs on their return.
It’s unclear as of now if Republicans and Democrats will find a compromise to move forward on a CR.
—Joseph Lord and Terri Wu
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Former President Donald Trump proposed modifying the 25th Amendment and promised an anti-censorship executive order at a Wisconsin rally, The Epoch Times’ Lawrence Wilson reported. Trump’s campaign has accused Vice President Kamala Harris of concealing President Joe Biden’s condition from the public ahead of Biden’s departure from the race.
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