Congress Returns for Frantic Pre-Recess Week: Stock-Trading Ban, GOP Budget Blueprint and a Second Shot at Defense Bill
After a quiet weekend with both chambers out, the House and Senate reconvene Monday, July 20, for their final week before the August recess, with House Republicans lining up floor votes on a stock-trading ban, a fiscal 2027 budget blueprint to unlock a partisan reconciliation bill, a stopgap spending measure, and a second attempt at the annual defense authorization bill.
Congress was largely dark over the weekend. The Senate was not in session and stood adjourned until 3 p.m. on Monday, July 20, 2026. The House reconvenes Monday at noon, initially to take up measures under suspension of the rules, a fast-track procedure for less controversial bills. The real action begins with committee work Monday afternoon and stretches across what leaders intend to be a packed final week before members leave for the August recess.
According to NPR, before the House adjourns for its August recess, House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to advance more defense funding, the president's election integrity bill and a stock trading ban for lawmakers. Roll Call and other outlets report the House Republican agenda for the week also includes a stopgap spending bill and a renewed effort on the defense authorization measure.
The stock-trading bill is among the most closely watched items. The House Rules Committee meets Monday, July 20, at 2:00 p.m. in H-313 of the Capitol to set terms for floor debate on the measure. The bill, dubbed the Stop Insider Trading Act and led by House Administration Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from buying new stocks. The politics have turned partisan: the standoff illustrates how an issue with broad bipartisan public support has splintered along partisan lines over whether the president should face the same restrictions as Congress, a sticking point Republicans have been unwilling to cross. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said any ban Democrats support should also cover the president and vice president.
The budget resolution is the vehicle for a third party-line "reconciliation" package this Congress. Reconciliation lets the majority bypass the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold. Roll Call reports the House Budget Committee approved the fiscal 2027 budget resolution Thursday on a strictly party-line vote of 20-14 after rejecting 14 Democratic amendments. The resolution directs four House committees — Armed Services, Intelligence, Agriculture and House Administration — to draft legislation providing up to $73 billion in defense and intelligence funds to underwrite the war in Iran, $12 billion in aid to farmers, and $10 billion for legislation aimed at preventing voting fraud. Notably, it makes no attempt to pay for any of the new spending with cuts to other programs. That has drawn objections from conservative fiscal hawks, and Johnson, who intends to bring the resolution to the floor this week, can't afford to lose more than a few GOP votes given united Democratic opposition.
Two hurdles loom over the defense and funding pieces. Before the July 4 break, hardline conservatives blocked the NDAA to pressure leaders on the SAVE America Act, a voter-ID measure. The holdouts blocked the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 8800), a must-pass bill that has cleared Congress for 64 consecutive years. On the stopgap, GOP leaders are wary of a shutdown fight before the midterms, but the path is unclear. As The Hill reported, leaders are eyeing a continuing resolution to fund the government past the Sept. 30 deadline, wary of the prospects of a shutdown ahead of the critical midterm elections. Whether all of these items reach the floor this week remains in flux.
Highlights: - The House Rules Committee meets Monday at 2 p.m. to tee up floor action on H.R. 7008, the Stop Insider Trading Act, which would bar members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from buying new individual stocks; Democrats oppose it because it does not cover the president or vice president. - A GOP-backed fiscal 2027 budget resolution — advanced by the House Budget Committee last week on a party-line 20-14 vote — heads toward a full House vote; it would allow a reconciliation bill adding up to $95 billion over 10 years, mostly for the Iran war, farm aid, and election-security measures, with no offsetting cuts. - Speaker Mike Johnson is also eyeing a second attempt at the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 8800) and a continuing resolution to fund the government past the Sept. 30 deadline, though the timing and prospects for all of it remain uncertain.