Global (English)
Insights

The House and Senate are both in Session for the Penultimate Week of the Lame Duck

  • Home
  • The House and Senate are both in Session for the Penultimate Week of the Lame Duck

The House and Senate are both in Session for the Penultimate Week of the Lame Duck 

The House Rules Committee passed a rule prepare floor consideration of:

  • Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Senate Amendment to H.R.5009), which follows the release of a finalized agreement on the $895.2 billion package over the weekend (see below).
  • Liberty in Laundry Act (H.R.7673), which would prohibit the Energy Secretary from promulgating and enforcing energy conservation standards for clothes washers that are not cost effective or technologically feasible.
  • Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act (S.4199), which is bipartisan legislation previously approved by the Senate by unanimous consent that would authorize 63 new permanent federal district court judgeships over the next 10 years (as well as 3 temporary judgeships). 

The House will also hold suspension votes this week on nearly two dozen bills from the Transportation, Homeland Security, Oversight, and Budget Committees, including:

  • Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act (S.4367/S.Rept.118-227), which would authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program for water resources infrastructure and comprehensively reauthorize the Economic Development Administration, among other provisions. The bipartisan leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Environment and Public Works Committees announced a final agreement last week.
  • Disaster Contract Improvement Act (S.310/S.Rept.118-24), which would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish an advisory body to foster collaboration among entities engaged in disaster recovery.
  • FEMA Loan Interest Payment Relief Act (H.R.2672), which would authorize financial assistance to local governments and electric cooperatives through reimbursements for interest payments on loans used for disaster recovery under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
  • Promoting Opportunities to Widen Electric Resilience Act (H.R.9541/H.Rept.118-808), which would authorize electric utilities that receive disaster assistance from FEMA for emergency power restoration to invest in long-term hazard mitigation and grid resilience.
  • Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayers Act (H.R.8692), which would require Amtrak to comply with federal open meeting requirements, with certain exceptions (e.g., contract negotiations).
  • Amtrak Executive Bonus Disclosure Act (H.R.8689), which would require Amtrak to publicly disclose the annual base pay and bonus compensation for executives in its required annual report to Congress.
  • Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act (H.R.9769), which would establish an interagency task force, led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI, to address threats related to state-sponsored cyber actors and provide annual briefings to Congress on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
  • DHS Special Events Program and Support Act (H.R.6229), which would codify the Department of Homeland Security’s Special Event Assessment Rating system for assessing and providing security support for festivals, parades, conventions, and other unique special events.
  • SHIELD Against CCP Act (H.R.9668), which would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a working group to address terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation security threats in the U.S. posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
  • Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act (S.2781), which would require the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a pilot program for issuing permits to remediate historic mine residue at abandoned mine sites without being subject to enforcement or liability, as well as a Good Samaritan Mine Remediation Fund for land management agencies.
  • Increasing Baseline Updates Act (H.R.9716), which would require the Congressional Budget Office to begin submitting at least two baseline updates each year to its annual budget and economic forecast. 

Senate Democrats continue to prioritize judicial confirmations in the final weeks of the lame-duck session. Notably, Senators-elect Adam Schiff of California and Andy Kim of New Jersey will be sworn in today to replace the appointed Senators in their respective states, which will provide the new Senators a head start and advantage in terms of seniority in the freshman class. 

 

Congressional Agenda 

FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (Senate Amendment to H.R.5009): Following weeks of negotiations based on the House-passed and Senate Armed Services Committee-passed versions, the leaders of the congressional defense panels unveiled the legislative text and Joint Explanatory Statement. Among the highlights:

  • A 14.5% pay raise for enlisted E1-4 and 4.5% increase for all other military.
  • Provisions to prevent Chinese espionage in the military, supply chains, and research institutions.
  • Authorization of funding increases for U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support regional allies.
  • Provisions to rein in the DEI bureaucracy, including a hiring freeze extension.
  • Prohibition of TRICARE coverage of certain transgender medical treatment for covered minors, which has prompted House Armed Services Committee Ranking Adam Smith (D-WA) to signal that he is now undecided on how he will vote.

The legislative package also includes the FY2025 Intelligence Authorization Act and Department of State Authorization Act, though it did not become a vehicle for carrying additional legislation. While there has been progress in negotiating an agreement on outbound investment legislation and the inclusion of the House-passed BIOSECURE Act, neither were included in the final package. Negotiators have indicated they will continue to work towards an agreement, with hopes of securing inclusion of both provisions in the forthcoming stopgap government funding bill.

The House plans to move first on final passage.  The razor-thin Republican majority always presents a challenge for passing rules, but the Speaker hopes that conservative policy wins will be enough to shore up conservative support. Should that fail, the Speaker will pivot and put NDAA on the floor under a suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage. Depending on the timing, the Senate could begin processing NDAA later this week or early next week.

Continuing Resolution: Ahead of the December 20 funding deadline, negotiators continue to work towards an agreement on a CR and disaster supplemental with a soft deadline of Wednesday/Thursday to reach a final agreement, including on any additional legislative measures that might be included, such as outbound investment restrictions or the BIOSECURE Act. There is still no agreement on the CR’s duration, although it is expected to run through March 2025.

Healthcare package: Authorizing committees continue to exchange offers on a year-end healthcare-related package for inclusion in the CR that would extend expiring health programs and include PBM reforms, a bump in physician reimbursements, prior authorization legislation for Medicare Advantage plans, and support for community health centers. However, there is no consensus on how to pay for the package and sharp disagreements over this issue remain, though some progress is being made.

Kids Online Safety Act: Over the weekend, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) announced a new round of amendments to KOSA in an attempt to address First Amendment concerns surrounding free speech online and censorship, which, she tweeted, should “eliminate once and for all the false narrative that this bill would be weaponized by unelected bureaucrats to censor Americans.” X/Twitter and Donald Trump Jr., among others, have expressed their support.

However, House Republican leadership remains opposed because, notwithstanding the latest changes, there are still First Amendment concerns – and there are questions within leadership about giving the Biden Administration a win on the issue at this point, especially as several leading tech companies have committees tasked with working the incoming Administration and the new Congress to address the issue. While the pressure campaign is certainly being felt by leadership, it is highly unlikely to result in KOSA being added to the CR.

Senate Democratic Leadership: The Senate Democratic Caucus convened last week to unanimously elect their leadership slate for the 119th Congress. The most significant changes are the ascension of Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota to serve as Chair of the Steering and Policy Committee (the No. 3 post) and elevation of Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who had been eyeing a challenge, to serve as Chair of the new Strategic Communications Committee (which is now the No. 4 post). Below is the full slate, save the appointed position of Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair:

  • Leader: Chuck Schumer of New York
  • Whip: Dick Durbin of Illinois
  • Steering and Policy Committee Chair: Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
  • Strategic Communications Committee Chair: Cory Booker of New Jersey
  • Vice Chairs: Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mark Warner of Virginia
  • Chair of Outreach: Bernie Sanders of Vermont
  • Conference Secretary: Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin
  • Vice Chair of Outreach: Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada
  • Deputy Conference Secretaries: Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Chris Murphy of Connecticut

Oversight: Several notable oversight-related hearings are lined up this week, including:

 

Biden Administration

  • Today, the President will deliver remarks on his economic agenda at the Brookings Institution.
  • This evening, the President will deliver remarks at a Christmas for All Dinner in celebration of unity and the Special Olympics.
  • On Friday morning, the President will participate in a virtual G7 meeting.

Related Content

North America

Both the House and Senate are in session this week before Thanksgiving recess

North America

Congress is in Session this Week as it Works to Avoid a Government Shutdown

North America

Congress Returns from August Recess for a Busy Three-Week Session