Lawmakers facing busy summer

Fight brewing over government funding; road bill on agenda

WASHINGTON -- After July Fourth fireworks and parades, members of Congress will return to work Tuesday facing a daunting summer workload and an impending deadline to fund the government or risk a shutdown in the fall.

The funding fight is shaping up as a partisan brawl against the backdrop of an intensifying campaign season, with Republicans eager to avoid another Capitol Hill mess as they try to hang onto control of Congress and take back the White House next year.

Both sides have already traded blame over who would be responsible if a shutdown does happen, with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, denouncing Democrats' "dangerously misguided strategy" and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi accusing Republicans of pursuing "manufactured crises."

The funding deadline does not arrive until Sept. 30, but lawmakers face more immediate tests, too. Near the top of the list is renewing highway funding before the government loses authority July 31 to send transportation money to the states in the middle of summer driving season.

Legislative maneuvering over the highway bill may also create an opening to renew the disputed federal Export-Import Bank, which makes and underwrites loans to help foreign companies buy U.S. products. The bank's charter expired Tuesday because of congressional inaction.

Depending on the progress of the nuclear negotiations of President Barack Obama's administration with Iran, lawmakers could face debate on that subject, too. Leading Republicans have made clear that they are prepared to reject any deal the administration comes up with.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Sunday, "Well, we have gone from dismantling their program to managing proliferation. That's the biggest concern. That's already done."

The Senate opens its legislative session this week with consideration of a major bipartisan education overhaul bill that rewrites the No Child Left Behind law by shifting responsibility from the federal government to the states for public school standards.

"We're seven years overdue" for a rewrite, said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn, the bill's chief sponsor.

The House also is moving forward with its own, Republican-written education overhaul bill, revived after leadership had to pull it earlier this year when conservatives challenged it.

Even if both bills pass, it's uncertain whether Congress will be able to agree on a combined version to send to Obama. The prospects for any major legislative accomplishments arriving on Obama's desk in the remainder of the year look slim, though there's talk of the Senate following the House and moving forward on cybersecurity legislation.

But all issues are likely to be overshadowed by the government funding fight and suspense over how -- or if -- a shutdown can be avoided.

Democrats are pledging to oppose the annual spending bills to fund government agencies unless Republicans sit down with them to negotiate higher spending levels for domestic agencies. Republicans, who want more spending for the military but not domestic agencies, have so far refused. If there's no resolution by Sept. 30, the government will enter a partial shutdown.

It's an outcome all involved say they want to avoid. Yet Democrats who watched Republicans pay a political price for forcing a partial shutdown over Obama's health care law in 2013 -- and were within hours of partially shutting down the Department of Homeland Security this year -- claim confidence they have the upper hand in forcing negotiations.

"Given that a Democratic president needs to sign anything and you need Democratic votes in both chambers, the writing is on the wall here," said Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill.

Republicans say Democrats are running a risk by opposing spending bills for priorities like troop funding -- but are not yet discussing how they will proceed if Democrats don't back down.

It looks likely that current funding levels could be temporarily extended beyond Sept. 30 to allow more time to negotiate a solution.

The government's borrowing limit will also need to be raised sometime before the end of the year.

Some popular expiring tax breaks will need to be extended, and the Federal Aviation Administration must be renewed. An industry-friendly FAA bill was delayed in the House recently, although aides said that was unrelated to the Justice Department's newly disclosed investigation of airline pricing.

In the meantime, the presence of several presidential candidates in the Senate makes action in that chamber unpredictable, and Congress will be out for another recess during the month of August.

Information for this article was contributed by Laurie Kellman and Joan Lowy of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/06/2015

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