As Congress returned to business last week, the big issues hanging in the air were the Iran deal and a potential government shutdown. The former proved to be quickly handled, and the latter remains undetermined.

But for some New England members, the focus remained on a less headline-grabbing issue: opioid abuse. And there, the end of summer recess quickly brought some progress.

On the first day back in session, the House of Representatives passed several bills on quick voice votes. One was U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark's Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, which seeks to combat neonatal abstinence syndrome (previously described here in June).

Following its surprisingly quick movement through the House, Clark says she is optimistic about the bill's chances in the Senate — where it is sponsored by the Republican majority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell.

"We'll see how quickly they can get it through the committee process, and to the floor,” Clark said, acknowledging that it might depend in part on whether the shutdown threat resolves as quickly as the Iran deal did.

Also passed last Tuesday was a bill steered through committee by Joe Kennedy III, to reauthorize and expand a law, set to expire soon, that monitors pain-medication prescriptions.

Last week the entire Massachusetts House delegation met with state Attorney General Maura Healey, to discuss the opioid crisis, including Healey's latest initiative to make the overdose-antidote drug Narcan available to emergency technicians.

Clark says that she believes those various different efforts are working in complementary fashion.

Also helping are a new round of grants to the region announced by the Office Of National Drug Policy, whose director, former Massachusetts drug-policy official Michael Botticelli, has just held opiate-crisis roundtables in New England.

That office just announced $2.2 million for Maine in drug-free community grants, and more across the region. In Fall River, a $400,000 grant just went to Steppingstone Inc. for a substance-abuse program for people transitioning from jail to the community.

And Sens. Angus King of Maine, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts — all members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee — signed onto a letter objecting to the Food and Drug Administration’s decision in August to approve OxyContin for use by children as young as 11.

Clark even credits Republican Governor Charlie Baker's attempt to team with medical schools on the issue. “That's a critical piece that has a great chance of changing what this epidemic looks like,” Clark said.

Hopping A Ride With POTUS

Clark got back to Washington at the end of summer recess in style: aboard Air Force One with President Barack Obama.

Obama was in Boston speaking at the annual Labor Day breakfast, and invited Clark, Rep. Seth Moulton, Markey, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and New hampshire Rep. Ann Kuster to travel back with him.

It was Clark's first time aboard the legendary aircraft. "The White House contacted my office on Friday and said, 'Would you like to travel with the President when he returns?' It didn't take long to say yes,” Clark said.

Obama even took their orders for chowder, which he had bought at Union Oyster House before leaving Boston, she said. Moulton posted a photo of himself to social media, eating the chowder out of a bowl with the Presidential seal.

There was some policy conversation with Obama, Clark said, although the President was more animated describing his recent three-day trip to Alaska. “He was obviously quite struck by it,” Clark said.

Clark says that she refrained from asking for pictures with the President — until one of the labor leaders also on the flight asked for permission, at which point a veritable orgy of selfies began.

Iran Battle Wraps; Shutdown Battle Looms

In the end, every New England Democrat (and Democratic-caucusing independent) voted in support of the Iran nuclear deal, while the region's few Republicans voted against it.

With Democrats staying mostly united on it, neither the House or Senate had the votes to sustain an override of an Obama veto. The Senate didn't even have the 60 votes to force a vote. And the House, where Republicans fell into internal debate, chose to hold a purely symbolic vote to get everybody on the record.

But the next battle is already raging. Some Republicans want to threaten another government shutdown, by demanding to de-fund Planned Parenthood as a condition of raising the debt ceiling.

Texas Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz has been leading that call.

That brought a response from Warren, in a speech she gave in Austin, Texas this past weekend.

"He wants a fight over Planned Parenthood? My answer is, 'Bring it on, Ted!'" she proclaimed.

Social media photo of the week

Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree posted this picture of herself with National Medal of Arts recipient Stephen King.

What an honor to see Stephen King receive the @NEAarts Nat'l Medal of Arts at White House this week! #mepolitics pic.twitter.com/jZjV5LyZMm