Lame duck session looming
It's beginning to look a lot like a lame duck session is looming on the horizon.
Congress is poised to put off a number of tough — and controversial — measures until after the Nov. 2 elections. Among the items that could see the light of day in a lame duck session include an extension of the so-called “Bush Tax Cuts,” a repeal of the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy and a number of budget measures.
“It is the height of irresponsibility that Democrats have continued to punt the issue of tax hikes down the road and into a potential lame duck session,” U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said in a statement. “But, lest we forget, also on the docket could be a national energy tax and increased deficit spending that will drive our nation further into debt and penalize future generations.”
Congress doesn't have a budget in place for next fiscal year, which starts Friday. Instead, Congress is looking to approve a “continuing resolution” assuring that the government has enough budget to continue to operate through Dec. 3.
“The majority has decided to wait until the very last minute to bring this stopgap measure to the floor with the hope that members will simply vote 'yes' so that we can all go home and focus on the upcoming elections,” U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a statement. “If we pass this resolution, we can be assured that we will be considering yet another massive omnibus spending bill in December. The simple fact that we are considering this CR is evidence of the majority's inability to lead effectively and do the people's business.”
For months, Price has warned Democrats not to consider a lame duck session. In July, Price introduced a resolution that Congress would agree not to meet between Nov. 2 and Jan. 3 “except in the case of an unforeseen, sudden emergency requiring immediate action from Congress.”
The measure did not pass.
Democrats “rammed through a government takeover of health care and put in place a permanent bailout mentality,” Price said. “But, having pursued this disastrous agenda, they still believe it is appropriate to use a lame duck session of Congress to get done what they could not or would not do beforehand. Simply put, that is an abject failure of leadership.”
