Much Work Left Unfinished

Congress has taken its annual summer recess through early September, leaving behind a number of unfinished bills that will have to be taken up in what could be an intense period of several weeks of work before recessing again for the elections. Most prominent among those bills are the annual appropriations measures needed to keep agencies funded through the fiscal year that starts October 1. The House has passed nearly all of the regular 13 appropriations bills, with the notable exception for federal employees of the Transportation-Treasury bill, the major bill affecting federal pay and benefits. The House likely will vote in early September on the committee-approved bill. The Senate has cleared just two of the appropriations bills, largely due to procedural issues making it difficult for leaders to get individual bills to floor votes promptly. Officials say Congress most likely will have to turn to a catchall spending bill