As we round out a week that saw both chambers of Congress fully functioning for the first time since the first few days of October, lawmakers are preparing to return next week to a to-do list that has piled up. 

What You Need To Know

  • Congress is facing a long to-do list now that the House is operational after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., secured the gavel this week
  • Perhaps chief amongst the list is keeping the government funded past Nov. 17 
  • Also on Congress’ plate is a funding request from the White House for about $105 billion dollars for additional assistance to both Ukraine and Israel as well as the Indo-Pacific and the U.S.-Mexico border
  • Congress will also need to authorize legislation for five-years such as the Farm Bill and Federal Aviation Administration

Perhaps chief amongst the list is keeping the government funded past Nov. 17, the date chosen in the short-term funding measure Congress passed in the eleventh hour on Sept. 30 that triggered the historic ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and led to three weeks of an essentially paralyzed House. 

Just a day after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., secured the gavel – putting to bed the more than 20-day battle for the role and officially setting the House back in motion – Republicans in the lower chamber passed the energy and water appropriations bill. The move means the House has now passed five of 12 spending bills necessary to fully fund the government until the next fiscal year. The House passed four of the bills before McCarthy was ousted. 

But the chances of the lower chamber getting all 12 across the finish line in the next three weeks and working out differences in the bills with the Senate is low – making the need for another short-term fix likely. 

The Senate has not passed any of its appropriations bills. It is currently in the process of voting on amendments to what is known as a minibus package, which includes three of the 12 spending bills. 

In a letter to his colleagues dated Oct. 23, Johnson said he would propose another stopgap funding extension until Jan. 15 or April 15 if individual spending bills are not passed by Nov. 17. That is despite Johnson not supporting the short-term measure to keep the government funded in September. 

But, as Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., argued in an interview with Spectrum News, Johnson will need to reach across the aisle on a budget for the full fiscal year as it will also need to clear the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House. 

“I think he's probably going to look for an easy way out, maybe another CR through the end of the year or through the end of January,” Gomez said. “We can't afford to have the government shutdown – if he wants a longer spending bill, he needs to negotiate with the Democrats in the House.”

“It's one thing to be a backbenching bomb-thrower who nobody's heard of. It's quite another to be in charge of the whole circus,” Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University Peter Loge said of Johnson, who has only been in Congress since 2017. 

“And in addition to having to bring many Democrats and moderate Republicans along with him on things like federal funding, there's a reality of the U.S. Senate, which is run by Democrats and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, and of course, the President is a Democrat as well. If he's not bipartisan, it's not happening,” Loge added. 

Also on Congress’ plate is a funding request from the White House for about $105 billion dollars for additional assistance to both Ukraine and Israel as well as the Indo-Pacific and the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Some House Republicans have forcefully pushed back on additional aid to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion and want the assistance to Israel as it battles Hamas to be considered separately. 

In his first interview since being elected Speaker of the House, Johnson said on Fox News the consensus among House Republicans is to separate funding for the two, but added “we’re not going to abandon” Ukraine. 

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who, along with the new speaker received a briefing from the White House on Biden’s funding request Thursday, told reporters Johnson understands the urgency of helping U.S. allies, noting he is on the House Armed Services Committee. 

“He's on armed services, he's aware of the threat from Putin,” McCaul said. “Jake Sullivan told us today that Putin has said that if the United States pulls out, that they will take over Ukraine in a week. I think it would send a terrible message to our allies, just like Afghanistan, if we pull out of Ukraine, it just emboldens and empowers Putin.”

In the upper chamber, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has made the case that Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia’s invasion and Israel’s war with Hamas are “interconnected.” 

Though some Republicans disagree with their leader's position, signaling a shift in the Senate GOP conference. Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who called it "completely disgraceful" to tie Israel aid to Ukraine funding, is part of a group of Republican senators on Thursday introduced a $14.3 billion Israel aid bill that "is not coupled with billions of additional dollars in aid to Ukraine."

Meanwhile Congress will also have to reauthorize the Farm Bill, an omnibus agriculture policy bill that includes programs such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program, formerly known as food stamps, for another five years. 

“The Farm Bill expired at the end of September, we have to re-up the Farm Bill,” Loge said. “The Farm Bill isn't just corn and soy, it's also specialty crops, apples, rice, it’s aid to families who can't afford food.” 

Lawmakers will also need to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration bill. Congress approved a three-month extension when they passed the short-term funding bill in September but that expires at the end of December.