With the exception of today — when the House briefly returns to clear the Senate-passed, short-term debt ceiling stopgap — Congress is out on recess this week after lawmakers kicked the can on their entire legislative to-do list.  

The big question on everyone’s mind right now is this: Will the delay help them get it all done, or just make matters worse? 

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.