Congress tries to pass Biden economic plans, fund government, raise

President Joe Biden‘s massive economic agenda, the full faith and credit of the United States, government funding and abortion rights are all at stake as Congress returns to Washington after weeks away.

The Senate comes back Monday from its August recess. The House will follow the upper chamber back to the Capitol on Sept. 20.

Lawmakers will have to rush to meet a range of critical deadlines in the coming weeks. The speed at which Congress works will determine whether the government shuts down, if the U.S. defaults on its debts and whether the largest proposed expansion of the social safety net in decades will take effect.

“We know the American people are facing challenges of monumental proportions, so we must and we will pass legislation that meets the moment,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday in pushing for the a torrent of new investments in social programs.

Congress faces a logjam:

• Infrastructure: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has promised centrist Democrats she will hold a vote on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill by Sept. 27. The pledge is not binding, and politics within her caucus could complicate the timeline.
• Democrats’ reconciliation bill: Pelosi hopes to approve an up to $3.5 trillion plan that invests in social programs and climate policy in conjunction with the infrastructure bill. But the House, Senate and White House are still writing the plan — and deciding which version could win the support of nearly every Democrat in Congress.
• Government funding: Lawmakers need to pass appropriations bills by Sept. 30 to prevent a government shutdown.
• Debt ceiling: The United States could default on its obligations in October if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling. Democrats are deciding how to lift or suspend the limit on their own after Republicans said they would not join in the effort.
• Abortion rights: The House plans to vote on a bill that would protect the right to abortions nationwide after the Supreme Court declined to block a restrictive Texas law. If the chamber passes the plan, it faces long odds in the Senate.