Congress Faces Votes to Avoid Gov’t Shutdown, Pass Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill as Dems Negotiate Spending Plan

What’s happening in Congress?

• Congress is set to have one of its busiest weeks in recent memory with significant votes expected in both chambers as lawmakers look to avoid a government shutdown from occurring on Friday, October 1st. Meanwhile, Democrats are looking to finalize and bring their $3.5 trillion social spending plan using reconciliation. The major items that may come up for votes in one or both chambers include: 

Continuing Resolution + Debt Limit + Disaster Relief

• The Senate on Monday is expected to take a procedural vote to advance a bill that would avoid a shutdown on Friday by funding the government through December 3rd; in addition to providing funding for disaster relief and Afghan evacuee resettlement; and suspending the debt limit until mid-December 2022. 
• House Democrats passed the bill on a party-line vote of 220-211, and the procedural vote in the Senate is expected to fall short of the 60 vote threshold needed to overcome the filibuster. Republicans oppose the inclusion of the debt limit suspension in the bill but have signaled a willingness to support a stopgap continuing resolution that includes funding for disaster relief and Afghan resettlement.
• The Treasury Dept. projects that the debt limit will need to be raised by mid-October or mid-November or the government won’t be able to fulfill its obligations. That would give Democrats at least a few weeks to revise their budget resolution to produce a new reconciliation bill that simply raises the debt limit, which could then pass Congress along party-lines through the fast-track process.
• Both chambers of Congress may end up voting on a “clean” continuing resolution that funds the government for a short-term period of time (possibly until December 3rd) to allow negotiations on full-year FY2022 funding to continue, in addition to emergency funding. Passing a clean CR will require unanimous consent in the Senate to bypass usual procedural rules related to cloture, so leadership may grant amendment votes to speed the process up.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Package

• After the Senate passed the bipartisan $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on a 69-30 vote in early August, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reached an agreement with moderate Democrats to hold a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package by September 27th to allow for the passage of Democrats’ budget resolution to use reconciliation for a $3.5 trillion spending plan. The bipartisan infrastructure package also includes an extension of surface transportation programs that fund highway projects and other federal initiatives that would otherwise expire after September 30th.
• That vote is expected to be pushed back to Thursday because Democratic leadership and progressives have insisted that the bipartisan infrastructure bill be passed alongside the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, which hasn’t been finalized, and if it does occur, whether progressives will block it. For their part, moderates insist that the bipartisan bill should come up this week and warn they will oppose the $3.5 trillion spending plan if progressives block the Senate-passed infrastructure bill. 
• Democrats require the support of all 50 of their senators and can only lose three votes in the House and still pass the reconciliation bill, so Democratic leadership has their work cut out for them this week as they negotiate the timing of votes and the content of their spending plan.  

Democrats’ Reconciliation Plan

• House Budget Committee Democrats marked up a 2,400-page version of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation spending plan, known as the Build Back Better Act over the weekend, although it leaves the committee as more of a rough draft than a finished product. 
• The bill is expected to change before it reaches the floor because its myriad details will need to satisfy moderate and progressive Democrats alike, and it’s unclear how quickly it will receive a vote in either chamber. 
• Even if the House takes up and passes yet-to-be finalized Democrats’ Build Back Better Act this week, it likely won’t receive a vote in the Senate this week due to the chamber’s procedural requirements for reconciliation bills. 

SENATE SCHEDULE

• The Senate meets Monday for the procedural vote on House Democrats’ stopgap funding, debt limit, and disaster relief bill, which is expected to fail. 
• Its schedule for the rest of the week is yet to be announced, but further votes are expected, potentially over the weekend.
• Committees will hold hearings on the conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan and future counterterrorism operations with testimony from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley; Texas’s abortion law; and reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOUSE SCHEDULE 

• The House convenes Monday and may vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package, although that may be postponed until later in the week.
• Committees will hold hearings on globalization’s impact on economic disparity; the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) 20 years after 9/11; and expanding abortion rights.

Check below throughout the week to see the vote results and updates to the schedule.

Schedule subject to change. All times Eastern.

HOUSE

Monday after 6:30pm

• Debate on Senate Amendment to H.R. 3684: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Tuesday after 12pm

• H.R. 4250 – War Crimes Rewards Expansion Act Passed 412-9.
• H.R. 1228 – Libya Stabilization Act, as amended Passed 386-35.
• H.R. 1693: EQUAL Act Passed 361-66.
• H.R. 4981 –To amend the Fentanyl Sanctions Act, to modify certain deadlines relating to the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking Passed 410-14.
• H.R. 4686 – Cambodia Democracy Act of 2021, as amended Passed 403-17.
• H.R. 2617: Performance Enhancement Reform Act, as amended Passed 414-10.
• S. 848: Consider Teachers Act of 2021 Passed 406-16.
• H.R. 1154: Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Act Passed 391-36.

Wednesday after 12pm

• House Amendment to S. 1301: Temporary Extension of Public Debt Limit Passed 219-212.
• H.R. 4611: DHS Software Supply Chain Risk Management Act of 2021, as amended
• H.R. 4089: Darren Drake Act, as amended Vote postponed.
• S. 1917: K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021 Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4094: One-Stop Pilot Program Act of 2021, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4682: UAS Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4426 – Homeland Security for Children Act, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 4363 – DHS Contract Reporting Act of 2021, as amended Passed by voice vote.
• H.R. 1204: District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Salary Home Rule Act, as amended Failed 259-170 (two-thirds majority required under suspension of the rules).

Thursday after 12pm

• Senate Amendment to H.R. 3684: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Vote postponed.
• Senate Amendment to H.R. 5305: Continuing Resolution Passed 254-175.
• H.R. 3533: To establish occupational series for Federal positions in software development, software engineering, data science, and data management, and for other purposes, as amended Passed 416-9.

Possible Consideration (under suspension of the rules)

• H.R. 1029: Free Veterans from Fees Act
• H.R. 3599: Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act of 2021, as amended
• H.R. 978: Chai Suthammanont Remembrance Act of 2021, as amended
• S. 2382: To authorize the National Cyber Director to accept details from other elements of the Federal Government on nonreimbursable basis, and for other purposes

Friday after 9am

• H.R. 5434: Surface Transportation Authorization 30-Day Extension Passed 365-51.

TBA (Tentative)

• Consideration of the H.R. ???: Build Back Better Plan
• H.R. 3110: PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act
• H.R. 3992: POJA Act of 2021
• H.R. 2119: Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act of 2021
• Additional legislative items are possible.

SENATE

Monday after 5:30pm

• Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to H.R. 5305: Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act Not invoked 48-50.

Tuesday after 11:30am

• Confirmation of Karen Donfried to be Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs and Eurasian Affairs Confirmed 73-26.
• Confirmation of Monica Medina to be Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Confirmed 61-36.
• Confirmation of Mary Phee to be Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Confirmed 67-31.
• Confirmation of Todd Robinson to be Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Confirmed 53-41.

Wednesday after 10:30am

• Senate Amendment to H.R. 5305: Continuing Resolution Passed 65-35.
• Confirmation of Jessica Lewis to be an Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Confirmed 70-27.
• Cloture motion on the nomination of Robert Anderson to be Solicitor General of the Dept. of the Interior Invoked 52-46.
• Confirmation of Robert Anderson to be Solicitor General of the Dept. of the Interior
• Cloture motion on the nomination of Jonathan Meyer to be General Counsel of the Dept. of Homeland Security Invoked 52-46.

Friday

• Motion to proceed to S. 1301: Debt Limit Suspension Agreed to 50-43.
• Confirmation of Rohit Chopra to be Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Confirmed 50-48.
• Cloture motion on the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management Invoked 50-48.
• Confirmation of Tracy Stone-Manning to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management Confirmed 50-45.

Saturday

• H.R. 5434: Surface Transportation Authorization 30-Day Extension Passed by unanimous consent.
• To be announced.

Tell your reps how to vote on this week's bills and share your thoughts below!

— Eric Revell