Congress has been in recess for the Memorial Day holiday, although they managed to pass the crucial bill to raise the debt ceiling during recess. They are back in session this week and will be working for the next three weeks before a recess spanning the last week of June and the first week of July. Then they’ll be at work another three weeks before their annual August recess, a tradition that dates back to the days when there was no air conditioning to keep the Capitol building cool.
While none of the legislation being voted on this week in the House of Representatives or the Senate deals with senior issues, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has scheduled a hearing on Veterans’ access to long-term care.
The annual legislation needed to run the federal government is the most significant task now facing Congress for the rest of the year. While that legislation (actually, there are 12 separate funding bills) is supposed to be done by October 1, which is the start of the federal government’s new fiscal year, Congress rarely meets that deadline anymore. No one expects they will this year, either.
However, debate over funding usually brings up the threat of a government shutdown, as the two parties play a game of political chicken. You can expect that very well may happen again this year.
