Lawmakers from both chambers return to Washington this week for the final legislative push before the November midterm elections<\/a>, the first time since July 23 that both chambers will be in Washington.<\/p>\n The House is in session for its final week of legislative business before the election after Speaker Mike Johnson scrapped<\/a> two previously scheduled weeks of votes. The Senate has three weeks of business ahead of it — as no changes to the Senate schedule have been announced — though it\u2019s possible Majority Leader John Thune could decide to dispatch his members to the campaign trail earlier than planned as well.<\/p>\n The September session is often plagued by a looming government funding deadline. But lawmakers have already passed a stopgap funding bill that President Donald Trump has signed to keep the lights on until Dec. 11, alleviating any immediate deadline pressure this month. Senate Republicans are also increasingly unlikely to take up a massive budget bill before the midterms.<\/p>\n Birds fly above the dome of the U.S. Capitol as negotiations for the Senate’s final votes of the legislative session continue, in Washington, D.C., August 7, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Nathan Howard\/Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The move to kick the can on government funding and delay a potential budget reconciliation bill means both items could be at the top of a large pile of priorities facing lawmakers in the lame duck session.\u00a0<\/p>\n But freedom from a fiscal showdown doesn\u2019t mean lawmakers won\u2019t feel the pressure — both now and in the lame duck — to produce.<\/p>\n Here’s what the House and Senate have ahead of them:<\/p>\n Funding the military: <\/strong>Over the summer recess, new concerns were stoked about leadership at the top of the military following Dan Driscoll\u2019s resignation<\/a> as Army secretary. Larger concerns about strained military resources and funding for the war in Iran also became more pressing, as the conflict stretches into its seventh month.<\/p>\n Legislators on both sides of the aisle will likely need to chart a path forward on military funding, especially as the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act continues to stall and the Senate has effectively thrown in the towel on Reconciliation 3.0 — the $95 billion GOP package that aimed at replenishing the military as the Iran war drags on, as well as billions in relief for American farmers and some aspects of the SAVE America Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n The NDAA doesn\u2019t need to be approved until the end of the year, but if lawmakers don\u2019t find a bipartisan path for it soon, they\u2019ll add to a potential lame duck pileup.<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune talks to reporters at the Capitol, June 3, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Allison Robbert\/AP <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Russia sanctions: <\/strong>Next week, House Republicans will attempt to pass the Russia sanctions bill<\/a> — despite objections from many Democrats — as GOP leaders will bring the bipartisan legislation to the floor under a rule, requiring only a simple majority for passage while also signaling that there isn\u2019t sufficient bipartisan support in the House to suspend the rules and pass it via a two-thirds majority.<\/p>\n Though the House passed a budget resolution, it\u2019s not clear whether Republicans in the Senate will attempt to take that up before they leave. Doing so would expose members to potentially challenging votes in a vote-a-rama, and it’s also not clear whether Thune even has the votes in his unruly majority to pass it.<\/p>\n Anti-fraud measures: <\/strong>The House will also aim to close out its pre-election legislative blitz by debating several fraud-related measures on the floor this week, including the Preventing Ripoffs and Obtaining Oversight of Funds Act, another bill to protect taxpayers from healthcare fraudsters, and a bill to establish a National Fraud Enforcement Division within the Department of Justice under the authority of the attorney general.<\/p>\n![\"artificial](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/08dd1ffc-666d-4a0e-af0e-4680c3baa288\/capitol-rt-jef-260901_1788286983212_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"artificial")
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