The House is set to break for its summer recess starting on July 25, leaving fewer than 20 legislative days on the schedule for lawmakers to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of September.
The federal budget runs out on Sept. 30. Without a short-term funding extension or a full-year spending plan, agencies will once again be facing the possibility of partial shutdowns, with a host of operations and services shuttered until new money is made available.
The threat of a shutdown has become commonplace on Capitol Hill, but Congress appears even less prepared for the next threat than others in the recent past. Only a few appropriations bills have been adopted by the full house — funding for the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs are among that group — and none have been finalized by the Senate.
With lawmakers headed back home next week, staffers will spend much of August trying to find points of compromise for a plan. But the recent rescission package and reconciliation bills adopted without input from Democratic lawmakers will complicate that work, especially if some of their votes are needed in the closely-divided House.
Tuesday, July 22
Senate Armed Services — 9:30 a.m. — G-50 Dirksen
Nominations
The committee will consider the nominations of Vice Adm. Frank Bradley to be head of U.S. Special Operations Command and Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin Anderson to be head of U.S. Africa Command.
House Homeland Security — 10 a.m. — 310 Cannon
Cyber Threats
Outside experts will testify on the evolution of cyber threats to critical American infrastructure.
Senate Foreign Relations — 10 a.m. — 419 Dirksen
Nominations
The committee will consider several pending nominations.
House Foreign Affairs — 10 a.m. — 2172 Rayburn
Pending Legislation
The committee will mark up several pending bills.
House Veterans’ Affairs — 2 p.m. — 360 Cannon
Employee Bonuses
Department officials will testify on efforts to prevent fraud and abuse in VA’s employee bonus programs.
Senate Foreign Relations — 2:30 p.m. — 419 Dirksen
Hong Kong
Outside experts will testify on human rights and democracy in Hong Kong.
Wednesday, July 23
House Armed Services — 10 a.m. — 2118 Rayburn
Defense Acquisition Reform
Pentagon officials will testify on proposed reforms to the defense acquisition process.
House Foreign Affairs — 10 a.m. — 2172 Rayburn
State Department Posture
State Department officials will testify on the fiscal 2026 budget request.
Senate Foreign Relations — 10 a.m. — 419 Dirksen
Pending Business
The committee will consider several pending nominations and pieces of legislation.
Senate Foreign Relations — 2:30 p.m. — 419 Dirksen
Middle East Strategies
Outside experts will testify on current U.S. diplomatic strategies towards Middle Eastern countries.
Senate Veterans’ Affairs — 4 p.m. — 418 Russell
Nominations
The committee will consider several pending nominations.
Thursday, July 24
Senate Armed Services — 9:30 a.m. — G-50 Dirksen
Nominations
The committee will consider the nomination of Adm. Daryl Caudle to be Chief of Naval Operations.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
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