Congress closed up shop for the summer last week, with members of the House and Senate departing Washington to begin a seven-week recess. Lawmakers will return to Washington after Labor Day, when they will be tasked with passing funding legislation to keep the government running after the new fiscal year begins on October 1.
Appropriations bills remain the most notable piece of unfinished business on Capitol Hill, as Congress has failed to give final approval to any of the 12 individual appropriations bills that would fund the government through FY17. The House and Senate will not have enough time to work through all 12 bills once they return in September, so after Labor Day lawmakers will likely negotiate a short-term continuing resolution to temporarily extend current spending levels past Election Day. This strategy would likely lead to Congress holding a post-election lame duck vote on an omnibus appropriations bill to fund all aspects of the government for the duration of FY17.
Also failing to receive votes before the recess were versions of the “Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016” that had moved through House and Senate committees earlier this year. The Senate WRDA bill in particular (S. 2848) had been framed as part of Congress’ response to the Flint water crisis and included $100 million of assistance to Flint through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) as well as $70 million for water infrastructure improvements nationwide through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program. The House and Senate will each have an opportunity to vote on their versions of WRDA in September, but the chambers will have to act quickly if they hope to agree on a final WRDA bill before the end of the year.
Upon returning to Washington in early September, the House and Senate are scheduled to remain on Capitol Hill through the end of the month before lawmakers hit the campaign trail in October. Any remaining legislative business will likely be addressed during a post-election lame duck session anticipated to begin in mid-November.