McConnell Cancels Most of the Senate's August Recess

Updated 6/5/18: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Tuesday that he is shortening the Senate's annual August recess for the second straight year. He said that after taking the first full week of August off, the Senate will work for the balance of the month.

The House is still expected to take the entire month of August off.

Countable's original post appears below!

A group of Senate Republicans are lobbying Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to cancel the chamber’s August recess so lawmakers can advance several legislative priorities ranging from criminal justice reform to appropriations before hitting the campaign trail this fall.

Senator David Perdue (R-GA) was joined by 15 other GOP senators in authoring the letter, which was first reported by The Washington Post. It read in part:

“We stand ready to work Mondays and Fridays, nights as well as weekends, to ensure the funding process is not used to jam the president with a bad spending deal. We, and the American people, expect Congress to work tirelessly to restore American greatness.”

Calls to cancel or shorten the August recess are an annual rite of passage in the halls of Congress, particularly among lawmakers running for re-election in the fall. But leadership is often reluctant to oblige those requests because other members would be put in the position of having to cancel family vacations or other plans.

Last year, McConnell agreed to cancel two weeks of the August recess, but ultimately senators only worked for one of the two planned workweeks ― the highlight of which was the confirmation of FBI Director Christopher Wray. (The House enjoyed the full month off.)

Among the things that Congress could have on its agenda during this August if recess is canceled include:

• All 12 appropriations bills to fund the government for fiscal year 2019, or potentially an omnibus spending bill that packages them together ― although lawmakers hope to pass them individually through regular order. The government is funded through the end of September, and the Senate only has 11 scheduled weeks in session remaining before then.
• The Farm Bill, which would reauthorize many U.S. Dept. of Agriculture food and nutrition programs that expire at the end of September. The House failed to pass a GOP version of the Farm Bill this week, while the Senate is drafting a bipartisan version. The bills passed by each chamber will also likely need to go to conference committee to be harmonized.
• The NDAA, which authorizes defense spending activities for fiscal year 2019. The House is set to take up its version next week, while it remains to be seen whether the Senate will initially take up the House NDAA or its own.
• A rescissions package, which would clawback up to $15 billion in funding that Congress authorized for prior fiscal years that went unspent and is sitting idle.
• Bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation is expected to be considered by the House and possibly the Senate this summer.
• A bill deregulating community banks that’s already passed the Senate will be taken up by the House next week, and a second banking reform bill is expected later in the year.
• Immigration reform may get a vote in the House in early June through either a discharge petition effort, or potentially House GOP leaders putting it on the schedule.
• And finally, a reauthorization of water infrastructure projects that must be done before the current two-year authorization expires at the end of September.

Should Congress work this August? If so, what should they focus on? Hit Take Action to tell your reps and share your thoughts below!

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Jamie Tuchman / iStock)