AGRICULTURE/CONGRESS/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Congressional Republicans, eager to hit the campaign trail to save their imperiled majorities, are starting to narrow their September legislative to-do list in hopes of skipping town early. But they still have to deal with a handful of looming deadlines, a potential shutdown fight and internal policy tensions — and all on tight timelines. Appropriators in both chambers still face numerous policy disputes over controversial issues such as abortion as they work to cut deals on spending bills before the close of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. With this week cut short due to the Jewish holiday, and the House on recess next week, lawmakers have just seven legislative days in which both chambers are scheduled to be in session before the government runs out of money. Leaders also have to dispense with a massive farm bill that’s been stalled amid a House-Senate clash over food stamps. House Republicans, with President Donald Trump’s backing, are still demanding work requirements for low-income beneficiaries — a controversial conservative proposal that has Senate GOP support but cannot attract enough Democrats to become law. Failure to pass a new farm bill by the Sept. 30 deadline could be a disaster: Republicans say it’s the best way to counteract the ill effects of Trump’s trade war.”
–Rachel Bade and Burgess Everett, “GOP faces deadline crunch as threat of losing House deepens,” Politico, September 10, 2018 8:56 pm