House and Senate lawmakers are in the final stages of their month-long August recess and are scheduled to return to Washington after Labor Day, on September 8. Once Congress is back in session, lawmakers will face a series of legislative deadlines to well into the fall.
The most pressing deadline is the end of the 2015 fiscal year on September 30. Congress has been unable to pass any of the twelve FY16 spending bills that are necessary to fund federal operations beginning on October 1, and House and Senate leaders have already given up on making any further progress on these individual bills after lawmakers return to Washington. Instead, Congress is expected to consider a temporary continuing resolution (CR) that will keep the government operating for several months while giving Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill more time to work out a final FY16 appropriations agreement.
But these plans are complicated by a group of at least 18 House Republicans who have pledged to oppose any CR that does not prohibit federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Because President Obama would veto any CR with such a restriction, a failure by Republican leaders to resolve this issue in September could lead to a government shutdown once the new fiscal year begins. Negotiations among Republicans on the path forward are expected to pick up steam after Labor Day.
Aside from the appropriations deadline, Congress also faces must-pass items this fall relating to transportation funding, Federal Aviation Administration policy, and raising the federal debt ceiling.