When the 111th Congress left Washington in early August for a 6-week recess it had passed some major legislation (including health care and financial reform) and the FY2010 war costs supplemental appropriations bill.  However, Congress has not completed action on a single FY2011 appropriations bill.  Now comes the hard part.  When they return frm recess next week, they will have less than three weeks to finish and pass 12 FY2011 appropriations bills.  This a high mountain to climb.  The House has passed two appropriations bills (Military construction/VA and Transportation/HUD), but has not finished full committee action on the remaining 10 bills.  The Senate has not moved a single appropriations bill to the floor.  It has approved nine bills, but still has not acted on the DoD, Interior & Environment, and the Legislative Branch bills.  It is highly unlikely that both chambers will pass, conference, and send more than a few appropriations bills to the president by October 1.  So, the chances are very high that most agencies will be operating under a continuing resolution (CR) for at least a short time.  The limited also schedule puts the timing of final passage of the FY2011 Defense Authorization Bill in doubt.  The House passed its version in May, but the Senate bill has not reached the floor.  Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell, told reporters this week that DoD is working with committee staff to determine how necessary authorizations can be addressed in the CR if the authorization bill is not completed soon.  But Congress also has other important legislation on it agenda.  lt is expected to consider bills to extend tax cuts and provide additional economic support to businesses proposed by the president.  In the face of this logjam, a number of bills of interest to federal employees may get pushed aside.  The House (H.R. 1722) and Senate (S. 707) have passed imilar telework bills, which would require agencies to expand teleworking opportunities for employees (see Highlights, July 16, 20102) and are now in conference.  The Federal Supervisor Training Act of 2010 (see Highlights, July 2, 2010) has been approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, but has not yet been approved by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  Also, a bill to allow federal employees to invest the value of unused leave in their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) (see Highlights, March 19, 2010) was approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but has not yet been taken up in the Senate.  This legislative logjam is not the only hurdle.  The upcoming congressional elections in November further complicate scheduling problems.  Congress will probably go out in early to mid-October to allow members to campaign.  They could (as they have in the past) return after the election to clean up unfinished legislation.  However, it is unclear from comments made by leaders in both parties whether or not they will return for a so-called "lame duck" session after this election.  This uncertainty could lead to  longer-term CRs and much unfinished business.  Highlights will keep you up-to-date on relevant congressional action until adjournment.