The House and Senate are both out of session in the traditional August recess. They do not return to Washington, D.C., until September 9, meaning lawmakers will have just 13 scheduled legislative days to fund Fiscal Year 2025 before current funding – finalized in March of this year – expires. A Continuing Resolution to keep the government functioning appears inevitable once again.

The House Appropriations Committee passed all 12 appropriations bill, and five of the 12 have passed on the House floor. However, these bills face an uphill climb with concerns lingering in the U.S. Senate and veto threats from the White House.

The House has passed the following appropriations bills:

• Military Construction-VA bill (H.R. 8580), by a vote of 209-197

• Defense appropriations (H.R. 8774) by a vote of 217-198

• Homeland Security (H.R. 8752) by a vote of 212-203

• Department of State-Foreign Operations (H.R. 8771) by a vote of 212-200

• Interior-Environment (H.R. 8998) by a vote of 210-205

President Biden issued a veto threat for all of these spending bills, as passed by the House, based on funding levels and policy disagreements.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved all but one (Homeland Security) of its 12 funding bills. Votes in committee have been strongly bipartisan, with six of the bills passing unanimously. However, strong partisan differences remain on spending levels, and the path forward on the Senate floor remains unclear. Legislators are also wary of taking tough votes in September, which could be used against them in campaign attacks prior to the November 5 elections.