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Happy Monday morning.

The Senate is in session today, the House returns tomorrow. President Joe Biden continues to quarantine after contracting Covid-19, but he’s getting better, according to his doctor. The president will speak virtually to Black law-enforcement executives this afternoon.

The August recess is looming and reelection campaigns are hitting high gear. The House leaves for recess after Friday’s vote, the Senate the following week.

With control of both chambers up for grabs and lawmakers anxious to be home, floor time is getting very tight. This is driving the legislative agenda, especially in the Senate, where everything takes much longer than expected. Passing a reconciliation package that allows Medicare to negotiate on prescription drug pricing and extends Obamacare subsidies is by far the most critical priority, but there are other key issues still outstanding with just two weeks to go – CHIPS-Plus, same-sex marriage, NATO, the assault weapons ban, police funding, and the PACT (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics) Act, a high-profile bill for veterans, among others. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats will have to make some tough calls. Let’s get to it.

However, there are some interesting bedfellows sprouting up in the House. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been calling House Republicans, lobbying them to support the legislation. Pompeo has spoken with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who urged the former House member to go public with his support. The Biden administration has been heartened by the public support for the legislation from three key House Republicans — Rep. Mike McCaul (Texas), the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio), the top Republican on House Intelligence, and Rep. John Katko (N.Y.), the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Once the Senate passes CHIPS-Plus, the big question will become “What’s next?” Schumer, along with Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), has been trying to determine if there are 10 GOP votes to overcome an expected GOP filibuster on the same-sex marriage bill. Forty-seven House Republicans supported the bill last week, so there’s a lot of interest in pushing this measure in the Senate. At this point, there’s no decision yet on whether to move forward.

There are two other outstanding issues – adding Sweden and Finland to NATO, and the PACT Act, which would allow millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military careers to receive VA health care and benefits. There’s a chance one of these could move this week, if Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell can reach a time agreement. Both bills have strong support; the Senate passed the PACT Act last month 84-14 before the House revised it, and there will be more than 90 senators backing Sweden and Finland’s accession. But again, time is the key factor here. Without a time agreement between the two leaders, these votes will be put off until September.

One bill that’s not likely to get a vote before recess — the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, sponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa.) This Big Tech antitrust bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee back in January but it’s stalled since then. Amazon, Google, Apple and other tech giants are lobbying furiously against the legislation. So far, there’s not 60 votes for the measure, and Schumer has said he’ll only bring it up if there’s enough support to overcome a filibuster.

And finally, there’s reconciliation. This is the must-pass bill for Schumer and Biden. Democrats must get some return for more than 15 months of work. Failure to do so would be a political disaster for the party. They’ve stripped the measure down to two key provisions that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will support – Medicare prescription drug price negotiations and a two-year extension of Obamacare premium subsidies.

Senate Democratic and GOP aides met with Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on Thursday and Friday as part of the “Byrd bath” for the package. This is a highly technical review of whether the package conforms with the Byrd Rule, which controls reconciliation in the Senate.

GOP staffers reportedly challenged several provisions, including whether seniors can make monthly payments for prescriptions rather than pay a lump sum, allowing drug companies to raise prices faster than inflation and if the federal government can impose an excise tax on drug companies that don’t negotiate with Medicare. MacDonough could issue guidance as early as today.

Assuming Senate Democrats can move forward with this package, they’ll spend the rest of the week drafting legislative text, working through any issues with their rank-and-file, and then plotting floor strategy for a vote-a-rama.

Schumer would then call up the House-passed Build Back Better bill from last December – remember that? – to initiate the process. The vote-a-rama would start, and it would be wide open. Schumer’s plan is to finish by the end of next week. This likely will be the last measure that senators vote on before they leave town – unless there’s some other side deal.

There’s been a push from Democratic moderates to pass multiple bills to boost police funding. The House Judiciary Committee passed an assault weapons ban last week as well, a huge priority of gun-control advocates. None of these bills will be a walk in the park for the Democratic leadership. The assault weapon ban already faces opposition from several moderate Democrats. And good luck convincing progressives to support an increase in funding for police departments.

Also this week: The America First Agenda Summit is at the Marriott Marquis in Washington. Former President Donald Trump will speak Tuesday afternoon. This will be Trump’s first trip back to Washington since January 2021. A number of House and Senate Republicans will be there, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Here’s the agenda.

– John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman

Tomorrow: As the Senate brings CHIPS-Plus to a vote, join us at the Roost at 9 a.m. ET for a conversation on the chips shortage with the Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Don Graves. This will be a conversation you don’t want to miss! RSVP to attend in-person or tune in on the livestream.