US Congress Keeps Busy Schedule

The US Congress returns today to work after taking a break, with important issues on its agenda and the threat that its inaction will provoke a new government shutdown.

In the long list of pending issues, among others, is the challenge represented by the approval of funds to fight the Zika virus and keep the federal government open from September 30th.

The approval of a spending bill to keep running major government agencies is a problem for the House of Representatives and the Senate, which translates into having money available to finance the military, Social Security checks, and assure global investors that the world's largest economy will not stop.

If the Congress does not approve the spending bill for the next period, bad times will come for the Republican lawmakers.

In the so-called 'shutdowns' the Republican Party lost credit before the public opinion and the voters, something that should weigh from today to approve, at least, one interim financing of continuity, as analysts estimate.

A poll by The Washington Post indicates that in 2013, a majority of voters (53 percent) blamed Republicans for the shutdown, while only 29 percent blamed President Barack Obama and the Democrats.

The same, he said, happened at the end of 1996, when most voters blamed the Republican-led Congress, not President William Clinton.

Topics such as the confirmation of Judge Merrick Garland to replace the late Judge Antonin Scalia are also on the agenda of the Senate, but apparently there will be no progress in a year where many lawmakers face strong challenges to living in the legislative forum.

In general, it is difficult that the short time available will allow lawmakers to face several thorny issues, and it is safest for them to join the list of the new Congress to be elected in November.