Dear Friends,

Labor Day traditionally marks the official beginning of the fall campaign season. Though the campaigns – presidential, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House – have been going strong for months, it is the start of the “homestretch” so to speak, the time when school is back in session, summer vacations are over, and busy voters start to really focus on the candidates and the issues.

But first, Congress has some work to do, in particular enacting government funding for the new fiscal year that begins on October 1, and hopefully, reaching a compromise on another COVID-19 relief bill. At this point, there is cause to be optimistic on the former, but not as much on the latter. See more below on the status of the end-of-year funding deadline and negotiations on another potential COVID-19 relief measure.