House returns with plans to counter Texas abortion law, raise debt ceiling - UPI News
Sept. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Congress will be back in full session on Monday with the return of House lawmakers after their August recess, and the lower chamber is expected to take up some issues immediately -- including an effort to oppose Texas' restrictive new abortion law.
Lawmakers have said they will get to work on several bills and proposals that also include avoiding a federal shutdown, extending the U.S. debt ceiling and passing a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill.
The House interrupted their recess briefly late last month to advance two key parts of President Joe Biden's agenda, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and a $3.5 trillion spending resolution that includes funding for a number of Democratic priorities.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated that there will be a vote on the infrastructure bill on Sept. 27.
The bill, which was passed by the Senate last month, is under threat from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and dozens of other progressive Democrats who said they'll vote against it if the spending resolution isn't completed.
Another key hurdle facing Congress is another funding resolution to keep the federal government running and avoid a shutdown.
The House and Senate face a Sept. 30 deadline to pass a funding bill, and to raise the debt ceiling so the federal government can pay its bills. If the debt ceiling is reached, it becomes difficult for the U.S. Treasury to borrow money.
Congressional Democrats are considering a plan to suspend the debt ceiling until late 2022, a move that would allow the United States to avoid defaulting on its existing debts and maintain its credit rating.
Some Republicans have said they won't go along with the plan -- which could lead to Democrats effectively daring GOP lawmakers to put the federal government in such a precarious fiscal position.
When Donald Trump was president, top Republicans like Sen. Mitch McConnell repeatedly said that raising or suspending the debt ceiling was a top priority.
"Democrats have chosen a partisan path on spending," McConnell tweeted earlier this month. "They want to tax and spend historic sums on radical, far-left policies with no Republican votes and no Republican input. But first, they're demanding Republicans help lift their credit limit to make it happen? That's absurd."
During Trump's presidency, the Republican-dominated Congress suspended the debt ceiling three times. Congress worked out a deal to suspend the debt limit for two years in 2019 with a new limit being set on Aug. 1 at around $28.5 trillion.
Another chief priority for House Democrats on their return Monday is taking action to offset Texas' restrictive new abortion law. Pelosi has vowed to move to codify Roe vs. Wade into federal law, which would render the issue moot in federal courts.
The controversial Texas law bans abortions as soon as six weeks into pregnancy, whenever a fetal heartbeat is detected -- a time when most women don't even know they're pregnant.
Pelosi has said the House will work to advance the Women's Health Protection Act, which aims to codify abortion rights into federal law and guarantee the practice for women nationwide.
Monday, the House rules committee will evaluate the proposal.
The Texas law has drawn widespread condemnation as overly intrusive and Biden's Justice Department has pledged to use all possible means to oppose it. Among other things, the law allows any Texas resident to sue women who seek an abortion.
The law also allows residents to sue those who aid women in seeking abortions, even if that means giving them a ride to the clinic. Early this month, the U.S. Supreme Court refused an emergency injunction against the Texas law.
source: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021/09/20/house-returns-abortion-debt-ceiling/7061632136306/
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