A Look at Congress's Busy September

— -- Lawmakers kicking off their summer recess won’t return to Washington for five weeks -- but they’ve left plenty to work through when they return on September 8.

Here are the top items and headlines waiting for Congress next month, when members will have just ten legislative days to vote on the Iran nuclear deal and keep the government funded.

CAN CONGRESS KILL THE DEAL?

Republicans have paved the way for a vote on a resolution of disapproval of the Iran deal by September 17, which, if passed, would keep congressional sanctions intact and derail the nuclear agreement.

President Obama’s promise to veto the resolution has sent the White House and opponents of the deal scrambling to whip up votes.

Republicans need 43 Democrats in the House and 13 in the Senate to override the planned veto. So far, eight House Democrats have come out against the deal, while Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who is set to replace the retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, became the first Senate Democrat to oppose the deal late Thursday night.

“Under this agreement [Iran] will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power,” Schumer wrote in a blog post.

SKIRTING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Congress has until September 30 to pass legislation to fund the government. But a series of Confederate flag-related amendments from Democrats derailed a planned vote on the Interior spending bill in July, stalling the appropriations process indefinitely.

Now, Boehner and McConnell expect to pass a continuing resolution – which would fund the government at the previous year’s levels –though that path has been complicated by the brewing Planned Parenthood controversy.

House conservatives plan to oppose any funding measure that funds Planned Parenthood, while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said last week that Democrats wouldn’t support a measure that defunds the organization, raising the stakes for a Planned Parenthood-related shutdown from both sides.

Additionally, Congress will have to raise the debt ceiling by October 30 to prevent the government from defaulting, according to a recent letter to Congress from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.

McConnell said Thursday that Congress is “not doing government shutdowns and we’re not threatening to default on the national debt.”

Congress has a mixed record on deadline: While lawmakers averted a government shutdown last year and extended highway funding for three months in July, Congress has also watched unemployment insurance and Export-Import Bank authorization lapse in recent years.

HILLARY ON THE HILL

Former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is set to testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi on October 22, as part of the committee’s ongoing probe into the 2012 terrorist attack in Libya.

Clinton’s email use and the activity of a close aide has caught the attention of Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Grassley has asked the FBI for details of the agency’s inquiry into the security of classified information in Clinton’s emails. (An attorney for Clinton confirmed to ABC News that the FBI has contacted Clinton, saying that her team is “actively cooperating” with the requests.)

He has also requested emails and information from longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin, part of a two-year investigation into whether she violated conflict-of-interest rules while working at the State Department. The request follows a recent State Department inspector general report that requested Abedin return roughly $9,000 in overpayments she received while working for the department.

A spokesperson for Grassley said the senator hasn’t decided whether to ask Abedin to appear before the committee. Abedin's attorney did not return ABC’s requests for comment.

POTHOLES AND HIGHWAY REPAIRS

Disagreement over how to pay for highway funding between House and Senate Republicans tanked plans to pass a highway bill before the recess. Now, Congress has until October 29 to settle on a long-term funding mechanism and replenish the federal fund that reimburses states for highway and infrastructure repairs.

State agencies and advocates say a long-term highway plan would spark new infrastructure investment and create new jobs nationwide.

POPE FRANCIS TAKES WASHINGTON

Pope Francis will address a joint meeting of Congress on September 24. While the new pope has made waves for some of his political views -- which could spark renewed debate over income inequality and climate change in the Capitol -- the excitement surrounding his visit is bipartisan.

"As far as events go in Washington, it is by far one that has created the most interest since I"ve been here," Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Michigan, said recently. Members will each receive one guest ticket for the pope's speech in the House chamber. (Kildee has not yet decided who he will invite.)

"I'm sure the attendance will be great," McConnell said Thursday. "We have more requests for this appearance than anything anybody can ever recall around here."