The clock is ticking down to fund the government with just a week left in September.

The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government through Dec. 9.

Few people are expecting a government shutdown, but Democrats have panned the Republican proposal for not including some of their priorities.

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For the Pentagon, kicking off another fiscal year on a stopgap measure that keeps spending flat and prevents new defense programs from starting is not ideal.

But defense officials have said if there must be a CR, it should be short-term. And the Senate plan counts.

"The longer a continuing resolution lasts, the more damaging it is," Defense Secretary Ash Carter testified this week. "It's not just a matter of money, but where the dollars are. For example, the CR that goes past December would undermine our plan to quadruple our European Reassurance Initiative."

Still, Carter said starting an eighth straight fiscal year with a CR is a "deplorable state of affairs."

Folded into the funding bill is the 2017 military construction and Veteran Affairs appropriations bill, which had been blocked over the fight on Zika funding. The bill would provide $82.3 billion in discretionary funding for the VA and military construction projects.

The committees also have a slew of hearings during Congress' last week before the October recess.

The House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing with national security experts to examine "21st Century Challenges, 20th Century Organization" at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2118. http://bit.ly/2dpSf5w

Also Tuesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee looks at "Libya's Terrorist Descent: Causes and Solutions" at 2:15 p.m. at Rayburn 2200. http://bit.ly/2dg1eDi

It also holds a hearing on the "U.S.–Republic of Korea–Japan Trilateral Relationship: Promoting Mutual Interests in Asia" at 2 p.m. at Rayburn 2172. http://bit.ly/2dg0aiC

The House Veterans Affairs Committee will investigate "How VA Improperly Paid Millions to Incarcerated Veterans" at 10:30 a.m. at the Cannon House Office Building, room 334. http://bit.ly/2cNlA84

On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on "Department of Defense Laboratories: Innovation through Science and Engineering in Support of Military Operations" at 2 p.m. at Rayburn 2212. http://bit.ly/2dpSgGV

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hosts a hearing on "The Persistent Threat of North Korea and Developing an Effective U.S. Response," at 10 a.m. at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, room 419. http://bit.ly/2cJjQe4

On Thursday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing on "Regional Impact of the Syria Conflict: Syria, Turkey and Iraq" at 10 a.m. at Dirksen 419. http://bit.ly/2dpULJi

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will look at "Advancing U.S. Interests in Latin America and the Caribbean," at 10 a.m. at Rayburn 2172. http://bit.ly/2crc2wL

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on "Fifteen Years After 9/11: Threats to the Homeland," at 10 a.m. at Dirksen 342. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh C. Johnson, FBI Director James Comey and Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Nicholas Rasmussen testify. http://bit.ly/2czqRQS

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