Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
- Republican leaders are looking to keep the government running and confirm Brett Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court justice.
- Democrats want to keep the government open, but they also are fighting to derail the nomination of Kavanaugh.
- Other items Congress looks to address Tuesday are passing a farm bill, renewing federal aviation programs, and grilling social media executives about foreign interference in their operations.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Keep the government running and confirm Brett Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court justice. Those are the big-ticket items that Republican leaders in Congress hope to accomplish as lawmakers look to wrap up their work and head home to campaign for the November elections.
Democrats want to keep the government open, but they also are fighting to derail the nomination of Kavanaugh, the second Supreme Court nominee from President Donald Trump.
Other items on the agenda when Congress returns Tuesday: passing a farm bill, renewing federal aviation programs, and grilling social media executives about foreign interference in their operations and whether they are biased against conservatives, as Trump has alleged.
A look at what's coming up on Capitol Hill:
___
Associated Press writer Juliet Linderman contributed to this report.
Replacing Justice Kennedy
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Senate Judiciary Committee begins confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge, on Tuesday with his introduction and opening statements from lawmakers. Questioning of the nominee will begin the next day and testimony from the American Bar Association, outside legal experts and those who know him best will follow.
Trump nominated Kavanaugh to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy, considered the swing vote on some of the most important issues decided in recent years. Democrats are worried that Kavanaugh's confirmation will cement a right-leaning court for many years to come. They contend his elevation could lead the court to restrict a woman's right to choose an abortion, equal rights for gays and lesbians and environmental protections.
With liberal advocacy groups adamantly opposed to Kavanaugh and Democrats wanting to fire up their base for the coming election, Senate questioning will be aggressive and opening statements forceful. But Republicans with their 50-49 majority have the edge.
Keeping The Government Open
REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
Lawmakers face a Sept. 30 deadline to pass spending bills to keep the government open.
The House and Senate have both approved a series of measures, but have not agreed on a unified bill that could go the president's desk.
Lawmakers hope to approve at least three compromise bills that fund a large portion of the government, including the military and most civilian agencies, before the new budget year begin Oct. 1.
In a shift from previous years, the Senate has approved nine of 12 mandatory spending bills, enough to fund nearly 90 percent of the government. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called that "an important step forward" and evidence that "Congress is in good hands" under GOP majorities in the House and Senate.
Still, lawmakers from both parties remain wary of a government shutdown, which Trump has threatened unless he gets a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats have resisted Trump's plan to spend $25 billion to fulfill that key Trump campaign promise.
A shutdown just weeks before the November elections would be the third under unified Republican control of Washington, following stoppages in January and February. That prospect has provoked widespread anxiety among Republicans facing tough re-election fights.
Trump has called a possible shutdown "a great political thing, because people want border security."
Negotiating a Farm Bill
Jim Mone/AP
Congress has until Sept. 30 to reauthorize farm programs that, among other things, provide payments to farmers when prices for major crops decline. Pleas from farm groups for action come as they deal with the Trump administration's decision to use tariffs as leverage in trade disputes; major trading partners have responded with tariffs of their own on farm products from the U.S.
The farm bill also would extend food aid for low-income Americans. House-passed legislation significantly tightens existing work requirements for aid recipients, an approach Trump has said he hopes makes it into the final bill. But the Senate version takes a more bipartisan approach and makes only modest changes to the food stamps, formally known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Led by Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., House Republicans have dug in on retaining work requirements in the bill. The two sides will begin hammering out a solution on Wednesday, when lawmakers start negotiating a compromise that can pass both chambers.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Judge blocks the Trump administration from allowing the online release of blueprints for 3-D-printed guns
- Jared Kushner's family real estate company was fined $210,000 by New York City regulators for filing false documents
- 8 GOP policymakers and experts remember John McCain as 'fearless, impatient, and abrasive'
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/2LRxsol
No comments:
Post a Comment