The post-election lame-duck session of Congress will be chaotic. A barely Republican House, a barely Democratic Senate, and a barely competent Biden-Harris administration have barely completed the day-to-day business of government this year. They need to get it done without any crazy errands.
Next year’s “fiscal cliff” will consume all of policymakers’ time and attention. In 2025, Congress and the new president will have to face the expiration of many $4 trillion bills. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, sunset A pandemic expansion of Obamacare’s Health Exchange Subsidy Tax Credit, regular budget and spending legislation with no enforceable caps, and a new debt limitation agreement. (Related: Terrence P. Jeffrey: America needs a Congress to end debt)
But before they look to that, here’s the unfinished business of this Congress.
1 — Expenses: the House of Representatives passed only 5 The Senate has not approved any of the 12 spending bills. These were supposed to be completed before the August recess, but a continuing resolution extended previous spending levels until December 20. Either way, Congress must find a way to fund defense, foreign affairs, the courts, and more before it adjourns. This year. Ignoring deadlines and making behind-the-scenes spending deals removes most members from the process, leaving huge chunks untouched and creating an almost irresistible opportunity to work on unrelated topics.
2 — Defense authority: Since 1961, Congress has annually National Defense Authorization Act. It sets priorities for the Department of Defense and related agencies. After all, national security is the federal government’s most important responsibility. Accomplishing it has been troublesome, partly because of legitimate differences of opinion about America’s role in the world, and partly because of various social and cultural controversies that affect the Pentagon. It has become.
3 — Disaster relief: The Disaster Relief Fund operated by FEMA is almost tapped outSmall Business Administration Disaster loan programs have already begun. The federal government has a huge role to play in emergencies, and Congress is certain to borrow tens of billions of dollars to keep it going. Will aid to Ukraine and Israel also cross the border to get there? $175 billion and $17.9 billion Already working on a current conflict?
4 — (In)fairness of social security: Retiring Rep. Garrett Graves (R-Louisiana) and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia) have rallied nearly all Democrats and a few Republicans. promote legislation He changed his agenda to give government retirees a $200 billion windfall and deplete the trust fund six months early. It will probably pass the House, but will the Senate block this unjust bill?
Those are the big parts, but they’re not the only ones.
Instead of passing a new farm bill, Congress could extend the current policy and make it an issue next year. they would have to waive their rights Completely toothless execution This is an exemption from statutory pay-as-you-go laws that would otherwise result in certain programs being completely phased out in January. There is no doubt that there is much more to be done by now.
The question is no longer what problems Congress will solve. They won’t seriously challenge management’s excesses, cut underperforming programs, or tackle the growing and worsening challenges.
The question is whether Congress will be able to fulfill its most basic responsibilities, even if it is delayed for several months. The disturbing answer is that we’ll have to wait and see.
Congress is ill-equipped to carry out its duties well. The members continue to hope and pray that somehow things will work out this time, while ignoring how the same actions have failed in the past.
If Congress wants better results and MPs want a better experience serving in Congress, they will have to: do something different.
But for now, they have a lot to catch up on.
Kurt Couchman is a senior fellow in fiscal policy at Americans for Prosperity.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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