Congress returns Monday to a full agenda on the economy and financial regulations. Lawmakers have just three weeks in session until they hit the campaign trail — and a bevy of issues to tackle, on top of averting a government shutdown. Here’s what’s on our radar: 1. Cryptocurrency purgatory Crypto lobbyists are watching closely to see if Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow reschedules a committee vote on her proposal to overhaul how the industry is regulated. The Michigan Democrat scrapped her July plans after she was unable to win over ranking member John Boozman (R-Ark.). Whether Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will be motivated to take it up is another story. A network of crypto super PACs, known as Fairshake, announced last month they would spend millions to try to unseat Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Indeed, Schumer did not mention any banking legislation in his latest Dear Colleague letter out Sunday. 2. FDIC scrutiny Congress will ramp up its review of misconduct at the FDIC this month with the bank regulator's chairman, Martin Gruenberg, tentatively slated to testify before House Financial Services and Brown looking to get a vote on Gruenberg's replacement on the books, as first reported by your host. Brown had initially floated taking up the nomination the last week of July. Yet a number of senators were absent — and committee rules prohibit members from casting tie-breaking votes via proxy. 3. China week House Republicans have lined up floor votes this week on a host of bills intended to make the U.S. more competitive with China, including a handful out of Financial Services. Yet the current list does not include a compromise on how to target outbound U.S. investment to China, which has been a contentious issue among top Republicans including House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.). House Rules meets today to prep the more controversial measures for the floor. 4. Gensler testimony SEC Chair Gary Gensler is slated to testify before House Financial Services and Senate Banking the last week of September, as first reported by your host. Expect him to face questions on crypto, recent litigation — as well as potential plans for a second term. Members could lay the groundwork at a House Financial Services hearing on the SEC’s crypto enforcement on Sept. 18. 5. Anti-ESG push House Republicans have also told members to expect votes this month on bills targeting environmental and social governance and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, as first reported by your host. That includes legislation that would limit the types of disclosures the SEC can compel and revamp its authority over shareholder proposals. Expect to hear more about these issues at a House Financial Services hearing on ESG Tuesday. 6. Fed furor The Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates at its September meeting — and you can bet GOP lawmakers will have something to say about it. Republicans including Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky and Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota have said they would see any pre-election move by the central bank as politically motivated — and are likely to protest loudly if it happens, particularly if (when?) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump does the same. Members could also get an excuse to again weigh in on regulators’ proposed overhaul of capital requirements. The Brookings Institution will host Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr on Tuesday at 10 a.m. to discuss “next steps” for the effort, dubbed Basel III Endgame. The smart money is on Barr announcing that the regulators will repropose their rule-following months of back-and-forth. 7. Committee leadership Reps. Barr, French Hill (R-Ark.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) and Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) will use these three weeks to advance their bids to replace the retiring McHenry. Keep an eye on their fundraising — Barr hosted GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance for a fundraiser in Kentucky in August — and relationship-building with steering committee members. ICYMI: Your host and our Zach Warmbrodt sat down with Barr and Hill over the recess to hear the latest on how they’re approaching the race. IT’S MONDAY — And in the interest of surviving the rest of the month in one piece, may we suggest embracing the concept of fika? Our favorite Hill version is a midafternoon walk to the Cannon coffee cart with your favorite reporter friends. As always, direct your congressional gossip to emueller@politico.com and @eleanor_mueller, and get in touch with your regular host at ssutton@politico.com and @samjsutton.
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