Congress returns to Washington Monday for the first time in a month with a busy and condensed agenda as lawmakers make their final push to pass bills before the midterm elections.
On the top of the agenda is a short-term government funding bill to avert a pre-election government shutdown. Members of the House of Representatives, all up for re-election, are expected to act quickly on the stopgap funding bill.
The timeline is tight. Lawmakers have less than 4 weeks to get the bill across the finish line by the annual government funding deadline of September 30th.
If enacted, the bill would fund the government till mid December, punting most major government funding negotiations until after the midterm elections.
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After last year's record-long government shutdown, which saw air travel disrupted, concerns about SNAP food assistance benefits running dry, and government employees and members of the military going without pay, it is unlikely a similar fight will unfold this year.
Part of the reason for last year's shutdown was Democrats' demands to rein in the Trump administration's aggressive immigration actions and ICE enforcement. Those likely will play a big part in Democrats' midterm messaging as they look to take back one or both chambers of Congress.
