Politics
Lame Duck Session: Key Issues
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On Monday, Congress went back to work in what is known as the “lame duck” session of Congress, the post-election period in which the defeated incumbents are still in office. No one is exactly sure what is going to happen, but there are a number of issues that politicians have said that they will address.
Heres a look at a few and how they stack up:
Government Funding
Democrats and Republicans have been working on a federal government spending package that attempts to find middle ground between the left and the right. Democrats and President Obama want a higher spending line to combat high rates of unemployment; Republicans, on the other hand, prefer a much lower package. Many do not want to pass on a spending bill in the lame duck at all, waiting instead for sessions to begin next year and for the GOP to control more seats.
Taxation
As many people may already be aware of, the tax cut package President Bush passed in 2001 are set to expire on January 1st. Both Democrats and Republicans want to extend them, but disagree as to what degree. Most Democrats in Congress support President Obama’s plan to extend the cuts for income up to $250,000 and let cuts on higher incomes expire. Republicans want the cuts extended for all incomes permanently. There are a number of compromises in the works, most of which involve full extension of the tax cuts for at least a year or two.
Unemployment Benefits
Current unemployment benefit extensions will expire by the end of this month. If this happens, an estimated two million unemployment recipients will lose their checks by the end of the year. It has become increasingly difficult for Congress to keep extending benefits. Democrats believe that deficit spending will produce a stimulus, whereas Republicans want benefit costs to be balanced. If legislation is not passed by the end of the week, benefits will expire because Congress does not reconvene until November 29th.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Democrats have been pushing for a repeal on the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in the US military which prevents those of openly gay or lesbian sexual orientation from openly serving in the military. If they are unable to repeal the legislation during the lame duck session, most likely it will not be able to happen until 2013 due to stiff Republican opposition.
Usually lame duck sessions are not very productive, but with many different issues on the agenda, it is very possible for some major legislation to pass through.
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