Becker’s Washington Weekly: Week of August 3
August Recess Arrives
The Senate returns to Washington for its final session week before the August recess with hopes of wrapping up key legislative items before the month-long break.
Over the weekend, Senate appropriators struck a bipartisan deal on a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through December 11th. The bill includes an extension of surface transportation authorities, which would avoid a lapse on September 30th and open an opportunity to pass a full surface transportation reauthorization in the lame duck session. The Senate will vote on the CR this week. If it passes, the bill will head back to the House of Representatives for consideration after the August recess.
In other legislative activity, the Senate Committee on Agriculture will markup its Farm Bill this week, potentially setting it up for a floor vote upon the Senate’s return in September. Congress hasn’t passed a comprehensive Farm Bill since 2018, with many of its programs operating on short-term extensions since 2023. The Senate may also consider Russian sanctions legislation, which would allow up to 100 percent tariffs on countries purchasing large amounts of Russian oil and sanction Russian financial institutions.
The Senate will convene committee hearings this week, including the following:
- The Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Health will examine building resilient healthcare with biotechnology.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism will discuss the consumer cost of AI surveillance pricing.
- The Senate Budget Committee will examine the reality of Medicaid.
- The Senate Finance Committee will explore approaches for addressing Social Security solvency.
- The Senate Banking Committee will discuss empowering Main Street by unlocking access to capital.
