The Senate is in session this week. The House is in recess.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is under fire for visiting a hair salon in San Francisco in violation of a city ordinance. Hair salons have been shut down in San Francisco since March but opened on September 1 for outdoor business. Pelosi visited on Monday, a day before the scheduled reopening. Video of her visit, released by the store owner, shows the Speaker walking around inside the salon without a mask covering her face, also in violation of city ordinance.

On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released separate reports on the ten-year budget outlook and the financial outlook for major federal trust funds. The reports show the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, the failure of Congress to responsibly manage federal spending, and the cost of doing nothing to put federal entitlement programs on a sustainable financial path.

In the third season of The West Wing, the personal aide to the President, Charlie Young, has a conversation with White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry about a stimulus payment he received. McGarry asks, “Did you spend it?” Charlie says, “I paid my VISA bill.” Leo replied, “We would have preferred it if you'd ate in a restaurant or traveled.” Later, when discussing the issue again, President Josiah Barlet jokingly asks Charlie, “A trip to Banana Republic would have killed you?”

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has become a hot button issue in 2020, one made far worse by the media’s reporting on the subject. The House of Representatives is expected to interrupt the August recess and return to Washington later this week to consider legislation to block changes the USPS had made to manage its long-standing financial woes.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) railed last week against Republicans’ proposal to modestly reduce unemployment insurance benefits. Republicans were concerned that the $600 weekly unemployment insurance benefit has harmed the recovery from the severe disruptions caused by partial economic shutdowns in response to COVID-19.

As the White House and congressional leadership begin bipartisan negotiations over another legislative response to COVID-19, fiscal conservatives both inside and outside of Congress are expressing concerns about the federal budget deficit.