WASHINGTON — Retaining the federal authorities open. Offering extra catastrophe support. Passing a protection coverage invoice. And for Senate Democrats, confirming extra judges.
It’s a brief however vital to-do listing as Congress returns to Washington this week to start what is named a lame-duck session — that interval between Election Day and the tip of the two-year congressional time period.
Republicans are anxious to show the web page and transfer on to subsequent yr after they’ll have management of the White Home and probably each chambers of Congress, whereas Democrats hope to get in as lots of their priorities as they’ll whereas they nonetheless have the bulk within the Senate.
Right here’s a take a look at the place issues stand going into the ultimate weeks of the tumultuous 118th Congress:
Funding the federal government
Simply earlier than lawmakers left Washington in September, they handed a short-term extension of presidency funding to keep away from a shutdown earlier than the election. They nonetheless have to go full-year spending payments for the present fiscal yr, or no less than one other extension, by Dec. 20.
A Republican aide within the Home and one other within the Senate not licensed to talk publicly about inner planning stated it’s doubtless that Congress will go one other short-term extension into early subsequent yr somewhat than full work on the payments.
That’s as a result of the 2 sides nonetheless have main variations on spending ranges and coverage priorities. Additionally, Republicans have much less incentive to barter now as a result of they may have management of the White Home, Senate and probably the Home come January.
A lot will rely upon whether or not authorities funding is a combat President-elect Donald Trump actually desires to tackle in his first few weeks as president or whether or not he’d favor to deal with different priorities.
Beneath phrases of a earlier deal that then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached with the Biden administration, spending for protection and nondefense applications would rise 1% this fiscal yr.
The Senate has been charting a course to go above that degree, whereas Home Republicans have been voting for steep cuts to many non-defense applications, and so they have hooked up coverage mandates to the spending payments that Democrats overwhelmingly oppose. So a closing settlement shall be tough to achieve this Congress.
Catastrophe Assist
Congress replenished the Federal Emergency Administration Company ‘s catastrophe aid fund with greater than $20 billion in September. However that cash is being spent shortly within the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Congress is predicted to take up a supplemental catastrophe funding bundle in some unspecified time in the future throughout the lame-duck. However, for now, lawmakers are awaiting a request from the Biden administration on what extra cash shall be wanted for FEMA’s catastrophe fund and for different catastrophe support applications, reminiscent of Small Enterprise Administration program that gives low-interest loans to companies and owners hit with property injury. This system ran out of cash in mid-October, although the company continues to take functions, so it could possibly transfer shortly when Congress does present funding.
Lawmakers expect a hefty request.
When visiting North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, Home Speaker Mike Johnson stated Congress offered cash to fulfill instant wants and would on the applicable time “act in a bipartisan fashion to supply what is needed to help these communities recover, the appropriate amount that the federal government should do.”
Protection Invoice
Congress for greater than six many years has handed an annual protection coverage invoice that authorizes particular weapons programs and units troop power and pay ranges.
The Home handed its $895.2 billion measure in June. That quantities to a 1% improve from the final fiscal yr, an quantity in line with the spending caps set by the McCarthy-White Home settlement. The measure offered a 19.5% enhance in pay for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% improve for different service members. However the measure was additionally full of scores of conservative coverage mandates, together with overturning the Pentagon’s coverage of reimbursing transportation bills to service members for journey out of state for an abortion.
The inclusion of tradition warfare provisions turned what is often a bipartisan invoice into one which the overwhelming majority of Home Democrats opposed.
The Senate model would authorize about $919.9 billion in spending. The bipartisan measure handed out of committee in July, however has not been dropped at the ground as Democrats reserved treasured ground time for different priorities. However behind the scenes, lawmakers have been negotiating to reconcile the variations within the two payments.
Judges
Democrats have made confirming judges a excessive precedence after watching Trump get 234 judges confirmed throughout his first 4 years in workplace.
Up to now, the Senate has confirmed 213 of President Joe Biden ‘s judicial nominees, and a committee spokesman stated the chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Unwell., goals to substantiate each nominee potential by the tip of the Congress. Seventeen nominees are pending on the ground and a number of other extra are pending in committee.
It’s potential that Biden may beat Trump’s general quantity, however Trump nonetheless will get the sting with regards to crucial nominations — these to the Supreme Court docket, with Trump appointing three and Biden appointing one. Trump additionally had extra appellate court docket judges confirmed.
Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has already lined up votes on two judges subsequent week, a sign of the precedence Democrats are inserting on the difficulty throughout the lame-duck.