By Billy House, THE NATIONAL JOURNAL
Lawmakers head toward their Independence Day recess at week’s end still in search of a solution to a looming highway funding crisis, dealing with growing tension over government spending bills due on Oct. 1 and debate over how this nation should address developments in Iraq.
House and Senate conferees will also be working this week on legislation to reduce veterans’ wait times for health care and stop a rash of preventable veterans’ deaths—facing pressure to hammer out compromise legislation and get a bill to the president’s desk.
The chairmen of the two Veterans Affairs’ committees, Republican Rep. Jeff Miller and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, met Thursday and conference committee staff were scheduled to meet Friday, but the conferees themselves are not due to meet for the first time until Tuesday.