Leader Thune says he will seek vote on continuing resolution before August recess

Leader Thune told reporters that keeping the government funded is a top priority and that he intends to bring a continuing resolution to the Senate floor for a vote before the August recess.

Thune said the CR would be designed to carry the government past the November election and avoid the "disruption chaos" of a shutdown. He said Chair Susan Collins is "working with Democrats on the Appropriations Committee to find a path forward" for such a funding measure.

Thune characterized the defense authorization bill, market-structure reform and a Russia sanctions measure as among the items the Republican leadership hopes to move to the floor. He noted the defense bill has long been treated as bipartisan but said Democrats had blocked consideration on the motion to proceed the prior week, complicating progress.

On the timing, Thune said the Senate will try to vote on a continuing resolution during the current work period but acknowledged that, depending on cooperation, the matter could be deferred into September. "And that is something that, I intend to bring to the floor for a vote before the August break," he said.

Thune also said the Senate will consider what the House produces, and that a House-passed budget resolution could — if necessary — be used as a vehicle to fund the government. He said members have expressed concerns about offsets and how supplemental requests would be paid for, and that those questions will be part of discussions if the requests reach the floor.

The next procedural step described by Thune was to have text available on market-structure legislation and final language on the Russia sanctions bill so those measures could be considered on the floor. He did not provide specific scheduling beyond the general plan to pursue floor consideration in this work period.