AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Lawmakers are coming back to D.C. this week after their August recess. Starting Tuesday, they'll be back on Capitol Hill and facing a long to-do list, with the risk of a government shutdown looming in the background. Now, stop us if you've heard that one before. Joining us now to help preview what's on the agenda is NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Hi, Claudia.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So I hope you enjoyed the recess. It sounds like there will be lots to take care of when lawmakers return. Where should we start?
GRISALES: Probably what you just mentioned, funding the government. That's likely the hardest job on tap. The deadline to do that is September 30. So when lawmakers get back, they'll have less than a month to approve regular appropriations bills. That's a process that can take months, and they're already very much behind. Many say it's a fantasy they'll get there. For example, many House Republicans just want to approve another stopgap measure that will keep funding levels static. Then, underlying all of this, we have seen this Republican-led Congress cede their power of the purse to the president again and again. For example, this summer, they passed a rescissions package from the White House that clawed back $9 billion in foreign aid and funding for public media. So we're expecting President Trump to have a lot to say here. And Democrats say they're going to fight these efforts in a new way.
RASCOE: So then the nearly evergreen question - could we be headed toward a shutdown at the end of the month?
GRISALES: It's possible. We have heard discussion that some lawmakers would approve a shorter-term stopgap measure, say for a month, for example, to give them time to negotiate. Democrats, for example, they have faced demands from their base to do more when it comes to these funding battles. For example, earlier this year, minority leader Chuck Schumer made way for a GOP stopgap spending plan to move forward, but he paid the price with a lot of blowback from the base. So Democrats are expecting to do a lot more fighting this time around. So that means Republicans could face a roadblock when it comes to passing a funding measure if Senate Democrats filibuster that effort.
RASCOE: The Jeffrey Epstein issue is also waiting for lawmakers to take it back up after garnering so much attention this summer. Where do things stand there?
GRISALES: Right. They're coming back - Republicans - to quite the crossroads here because they have heard demands from their own base about presenting more transparency on this case, and that they haven't delivered on campaign promises to release files related to this. Now, we did see the House Oversight Committee have a busy August. They issued subpoenas for documents and witness testimony. The Justice Department started turning over files from its investigation into Epstein to the committee, and the Republican chairman, James Comer of Kentucky, says he intends to make the records public. But Democrats are going to have a lot to say. They're arguing that Comer is slow-walking the process. They say the release will be far from comprehensive once the public gets to see it. And they have a key ally in Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie. He's teamed up with Democrats to try to force a vote on a full release of the records on the House floor come next week.
RASCOE: OK. Quickly, what else are you watching for from Congress?
GRISALES: Well, we know the Senate left in the midst of fighting over approving President Trump's nominees. That will likely pick up. And lawmakers will need to face the music on a lot of issues that boiled over during recess. Republicans saw a blowback on the major bill that they passed earlier this summer from Trump's demands. And Trump has also exerted more influence on the Federal Reserve. And we've seen a lot of chaos at the CDC and expect a lot from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when he testifies later this week.
RASCOE: That's NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Thanks, Claudia.
GRISALES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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