Congress reconvenes and pressure’s on
Mcconnell opens with list of three necessities
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers returned to Washington on Tuesday facing a daunting to-do list and three months left in the year to show that Republicans can actually get things done.
First up: Speeding relief aid to Texas and Louisiana in the wake of the Harvey storm. A first $7.9 billion installment was set for House passage Wednesday, with leaders hoping for a big bipartisan vote to demonstrate Congress’ support for Harvey’s victims.
That will be the easy part.
GOP leaders are also wrestling with how to raise the government’s $19.9 trillion debt limit, something that must happen by month’s end at the latest to avoid a first-ever default on U.S. payments.
The administration and GOP leaders were making plans to add the debt limit increase to the Harvey relief bill in the Senate and send it back to the House, a plan that quickly provoked conservative ire and a familiar intramural GOP dispute.
“We’re $20 trillion in debt. Our brand, the Republican brand, is fiscal responsibility, so we got to show it,” said Rep. Dave Brat, R-VA., a member of the House Freedom Caucus, which has been arguing for spending cuts to be included with any debt ceiling increase.
Despite the conservative outrage, leaders were pressing forward with the plan as a way to sweeten the perennially unpopular debt limit vote. As usual, they planned to rely on Democratic votes to get it over the finish line without conservative support, though Democrats were withholding judgment.
Congress must also approve new spending by Sept. 30 to stave off a government shutdown. The plan for dispensing with that issue was a short-term extension of existing spending levels, which would kick the funding fight into December. At that point, lawmakers could add more money for Texas and Louisiana and fight it out over Trump’s call for money for a wall along on the U.s.-mexico border.
“We have three critically important things before us right now that we need to do quickly,” Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., said as he opened the Senate session. “Pass disaster relief. Prevent a default so that those emergency resources can actually get to Americans who need them. And keep the government funded.”
There is no time to waste. Federal disaster funds run out Friday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is warning lawmakers.
FEMA has just $1 billion remaining in its disaster accounts.