Funding Bill Atop Priorities for House 09/01 06:24

   House lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday with a short to-do list 
after five weeks back in their home districts. The first order of business is 
most likely a vote on a stopgap spending bill designed to keep the federal 
government fully funded through early December, removing the possibility of a 
shutdown before the midterm elections.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- House lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday with a 
short to-do list after five weeks back in their home districts. The first order 
of business is most likely a vote on a stopgap spending bill designed to keep 
the federal government fully funded through early December, removing the 
possibility of a shutdown before the midterm elections.

   With election season getting underway, votes are also expected on measures 
designed to amplify the GOP's messaging strategy going into November, most 
notably a resolution condemning socialism. Republicans are trying to tie the 
Democratic Party in general to the democratic socialist candidates who have 
succeeded this year in running for office.

   "The first thing is we've got to make sure this government gets funded and 
we don't have another Democratic shutdown," Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters 
as he prepared to open the chamber for business. The funding vote will most 
likely take place Tuesday.

   One significant item that did not make its way onto the House schedule this 
week is a Senate-passed bill that imposes sanctions on key segments of the 
Russian economy and allows President Donald Trump to impose steep tariffs on 
goods imported from countries that buy the vast majority of Russian oil and 
gas. The effort led by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham aims to deprive Russian 
President Vladimir Putin of revenue used to finance the war against Ukraine.

   The bill passed 86-11 in the Senate. House passage would send the bill to 
Trump's desk for his signature. However, some key House Democrats oppose the 
bill. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said the legislation risks providing 
Trump and his administration with new sanction and tariff authorities that "we 
believe they will abuse."

   "I have serious concerns with the legislation," he told reporters.

   The return to Washington also brings a renewed focus on improper behavior by 
lawmakers as the House will have its first chance to act on a recommendation 
from the House Ethics Committee to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., for 
engaging in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two 
young female aides in his congressional office.

   Edwards implores colleagues to reject censure vote

   Edwards has disputed the committee's conclusion that he failed to adhere to 
the spirit of the rules prohibiting sexual harassment and unwanted advances 
toward House staffers. He points to the committee's conclusion that found no 
evidence he "engaged in sexual activity or explicitly propositioned any 
individual under his employ."

   Edwards said he was not asking lawmakers to approve of every gift, 
compliment or social interaction, but to distinguish between conduct that 
someone might find unconventional and conduct that actually establishes sexual 
harassment.

   "Individual acts that were not themselves prohibited were gathered together, 
assigned the most damaging possible interpretation, and then used collectively 
to support a conclusion far more serious than the underlying evidence," Edwards 
wrote in a letter to colleagues first reported by NOTUS.

   The committee said Edwards provided the two staffers with lavish and 
recurrent gifts, made comments regarding their dress and appearance, invited 
them to intimate dinners and vacations, sent notes regarding his effusive 
affection and invited them to other activities as a way to spend time together.

   A vote to censure registers the House's deep disapproval of a lawmaker's 
conduct that does not meet the threshold for expulsion. Edwards dropped his 
reelection plans after the committee's report came out.

   Lawmakers are working to avoid another shutdown

   The short-term funding bill underwent some significant changes in the 
Senate, which made it more palatable for Democrats. It delays a proposed rule 
from the Office of Management and Budget that would give political appointees 
more power over the distribution of federal grants. It also includes language 
to ensure the administration can't transfer funds to the Border Patrol.

   But a provision that delays for one month a federal ban on intoxicating hemp 
THC products has prompted criticism from many GOP lawmakers. As a result, GOP 
leaders will likely place the bill on a fast-track process that avoids a 
separate procedural vote, bypassing any Republican efforts to block or stall 
the legislation. Suspension bills require a two-thirds vote to pass, meaning a 
significant number from both parties need to support the measure for it to pass 
and advance to Trump's desk.

   Lawmakers are anxious to avoid the possibility of a shutdown as voters weigh 
their options going into November. The funding bill passed by a 90-6 vote in 
the Senate, showing that lawmakers from both political parties want to avoid a 
repeat of the two historic shutdowns that occurred this past year.