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DC Download 09.09.2024

Lawmakers are back in D.C. after the month-long August recess. With only three weeks until government funding expires and lawmakers break for another month-long recess, all eyes are on a potential stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. At the same time, the House is considering a bevy of anti-China bills.

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As Congress grapples with critical decisions on funding, health care, and foreign policy, now is the time for progressive advocates to double down on organizing efforts. To effectively push back against right-wing attacks and advance progressive solutions, it’s essential to stay on message and lead with a bold vision.

Our tools are designed to help you craft persuasive narratives, engage your audience, and build momentum in the fight for lasting change. Whether you’re preparing for an interview, launching a campaign, or amplifying your voice on social media, our guides provide the language and framing needed to shape the conversation on critical issues like government funding, reproductive rights, and defending democracy. Let’s ensure every message strengthens our cause and drives progress forward.

For more messaging tools and resources, visit the Progressive Playbook.

House Floor

The House will vote on 30 suspension bills from the Committees on Financial Services, Science, Space, & Technology, House Administration, Oversight & Accountability, Energy & Commerce, Homeland Security, and Foreign Affairs. Suspension bills require a ⅔ majority to pass. For a list of all suspension bills being considered, click here.

The House will also consider the following bills, subject to a rule:

H.R. 1516 – DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act (Sponsored by Rep. Pfluger / Homeland Security Committee): The bill would ban the Department of Homeland Security from providing any funds to U.S. universities that have a relationship with a Confucius Institute or certain Chinese universities.

H.R. 1398 – Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Gooden / Judiciary Committee): The bill would provide the Justice Department resources for a program aimed at countering espionage specifically by the Chinese Communist Party.

H.R. 9456 – Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Newhouse / Financial Services Committee): The bill would authorize the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) and the Department of Agriculture to review foreign agricultural land transactions.

H.R. 1425 – No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act (Sponsored by Rep. Tiffany / Foreign Affairs Committee): The bill would deem the World Health Organization’s pending agreement on pandemic preparedness a treaty and require Senate approval to implement it in the U.S.

H.R. __ – Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2025 (Sponsored by Rep. Higgins (LA) / Appropriations Committee): The bill would extend government funding until March 28, 2025 and includes the SAVE Act, a House Republican bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Republican CR Fact Sheet (House Appropriations Committee, Democrats)

H.R. 7980 – End Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Act of 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Miller (WV) / Ways and Means Committee): The bill would bar electric vehicles using batteries from companies based in China and other U.S. adversaries from EV tax credits.

House Committee Highlights

A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:

Tuesday Hearings

Decoding DeFi: Breaking Down the Future of Decentralized Finance (Financial Services)

Republican Border Hearing (Judiciary)

Where Do We Go From Here? Examining a Path Forward to Assess Agencies’ Efforts to Prevent Improper Payments and Fraud (Oversight & Accountability)

Accountable or Absent?: Examining VA Leadership Under the Biden-Harris Administration (Veterans' Affairs)

Republican Border Hearing on Noncitizen Voting (Judiciary)

The Goldman Act Turns 10: Holding Hague Convention Violators Accountable and Bringing Abducted American Children Home (Foreign Affairs)

Wednesday Hearings

Congress and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Examining Ways to Improve CBO (Budget)

American Confidence in Elections: Looking Ahead to the 2024 General Election (House Administration)

Examining the Biden-Harris Administration’s Resettlement of Afghan Evacuees (Oversight & Accountability)

From Gas to Groceries: Americans Pay the Price of the Biden-Harris Energy Agenda (Energy & Commerce)

Severe Food Distribution Shortages in Tribal and Elderly Communities (Agriculture)

Countering Malign PRC Influence in Europe (Foreign Affairs)

Nominations

The Senate this week has teed up votes on the following nominees:

Adam B. Abelson, of Maryland, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maryland
Jeannette A. Vargas, of New York, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York

Senate Committee Highlights

A full list of this week’s Senate committee hearings, including confirmation hearings, can be found here. Notable committee hearings include:

Tuesday Hearings

The US Companies’ Technology Fueling The Russian War Machine (Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs)

Supporting Armenia's Democracy and Western Future (Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe)

Wednesday Hearings

Social Security Forever: Delivering Benefits and Protecting Retirement Security (Budget)

Thursday Hearings

The 2025 Tax Policy Debate and Tax Avoidance Strategies (Finance)

Protecting Americans’ Money: Combatting Scams and Frauds Against Seniors and Savers (Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs)

Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care (HELP)

Anti-NGO Laws and other Tools of Democratic Repression (Foreign Relations)

Government Funding

Before heading home for the August recess, House and Senate lawmakers made some progress on Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations, but there’s still a long way to go. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s schedule aimed for the House to pass all 12 spending bills before the August recess, but this proved too ambitious, as only five bills (Military Construction-VA, Defense, Homeland Security, State-Foreign Operations, and Interior-Environment) made it through the House, all with partisan splits. Meanwhile, GOP leaders pulled several contentious bills, like Financial Services and General Government, Agriculture/FDA, and Energy-Water, and saw the Legislative Branch bill fail on the floor. On the Senate side, 11 of its 12 bills have advanced out of committee with bipartisan support, but none have reached the floor yet.

Congress must pass an appropriations package by September 30 or a stopgap funding bill, or face a government shutdown on October 1. This week, the House is expected to consider House Speaker Mike Johnson’s stopgap funding bill that would extend government funding until March 28. However, the bill includes a provision to require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections. Over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a Dear Colleague letter expressed Democratic support for a clean stopgap bill without any “poison pills or Republican extremism.” Additionally, the White House released a Statement of Administration Policy opposing Speaker Johnson's stopgap bill and threatened to veto it should Congress pass the bill.