Congress returns to work on COVID-19 deal before next recess

July 20 (UPI) -- The House and Senate returned to work on Capitol Hill Monday and will now aim to resolve a number of obstacles related to the next round of COVID-19 relief before they break again for August recess.

Lawmakers' attention will mainly be focused on proposals for another relief package. Negotiators expect to begin talks on the fifth rescue bill in the coming days and weeks.

Both Republicans and Democrats have said they want something signed into law before they break recess. The Senate will begin recess on Aug. 7 and the House a week earlier on July 31.

Lawmakers in both parties have raised significant differences that might make a deal in the next three weeks tricky.

Senate Republicans are expected to seek a bill worth about $1 trillion that includes legal protections for businesses and financial incentives for schools to reopen for the fall.

House Democrats passed a $3 trillion bill in May that seeks to extend a $600 per week increase for unemployment benefits -- a measure mostly opposed by Republican senators.

Democrats have also earmarked $1 trillion for state and local governments in the HEROES Act to help with depressed economies.

President Donald Trump has promised to veto the House bill if it reaches his desk. Pelosi said last week she's willing to delay the August recess to finalize a relief package.

There are also other matters facing makers before they are scheduled to leave Washington, D.C.

Floor votes are expected for almost all of this session's spending bills, including a $740 billion defense bill that Trump has similarly threatened to veto because it orders military bases that honor Confederate leaders to be renamed.