WASHINGTON – Members of Congress left the Capitol last week to focus their attention on the campaign trail in the six weeks leading up to Election Day, leaving much of their work unfinished.
The Republican House and Democratic Senate are scheduled to remain in recess until Nov. 12, although urgent needs arising in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which are fully funded for now, could force the chambers to start session again earlier.
When lawmakers return to Washington, they will have to tackle mandatory regulations they left on autopilot rather than negotiate fresh bipartisan compromises.
So far this year, lawmakers have put off reaching an agreement on brokering mandatory measures like a farm bill as well as this year’s batch of government funding bills and the annual defense policy legislation.
Children’s safety on the Internet, exposure to radiation
There are also some measures that have passed in one chamber with broad bipartisan support but have not been taken up on the other side of the Capitol, and leadership could decide to pursue them in November or December.
For example, an intriguing combination of senators, led by Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal and Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn, are advocating that House GOP leaders hold a vote on some internet security bills designed to better protect children from the darker side of the Internet.
A rail safety bill drafted by a bipartisan group of senators from Ohio and Pennsylvania after a train derailment in East Palestine remains pending after more than a year of intransigence.
And legislation to reauthorize the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA passed the Senate after a largely bipartisan vote earlier this year, it sits on the shelf collecting dust in the House.
Cancer victims, Indigenous communities AND many others urged House GOP leaders to hold a vote to reauthorize the program after it expires this summer, but avoided it because of the costs.
A five-week-old lame duck
Lawmakers interviewed by States Newsroom and congressional leaders indicated that the outcome of the November election will have a significant impact on what Congress approves during the five-week session that runs from November to December.
All interviews were conducted before Hurricane Helene made landfall and Israel was directly attacked by Iran, both of which are likely to be at the top of congressional leaders’ to-do lists.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune said it’s “hard to say” what, if anything, Congress will approve during a meaningless session.
“I think a lot will be shaped by what happens in November,” the South Dakota Republican said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., just a day before Hurricane Helene made landfall, said Democrats would advocate for disaster response funding previously requested by the Biden administration.
“Extreme weather events are becoming more common and affecting everyone – in blue states, purple states and red states,” Jeffries said. “This is not a partisan issue, it is an American issue in terms of being there in a time of need for ordinary Americans whose lives and livelihoods have been turned upside down.”
Other priorities for House Democrats during this period include approval of a dozen full-year government funding bills that were scheduled for completion by Oct. 1, a defense policy bill that had the same deadline, and an agriculture bill that has been delayed for more than a year .
Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley said he is “hopeful” that a bill to reauthorize the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act will reach the president’s desk before the end of the year.
He didn’t rule out lobbying to add it to the mandatory government funding bill, but said the real obstacle was GOP leaders in the House.
“It doesn’t require help in the Senate. It just needs the House,” Hawley said. “I have had good and productive conversations with Speaker (Mike) Johnson over the last few weeks and I appreciate his personal commitment to this issue and I hope it will lead to action.”
Haley said the House allowing RECA to expire, preventing people eligible for the program from receiving benefits, is “outrageous.”
Defense priorities, agricultural bill
Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, said staff will work in October to bridge differences between the two chambers on an annual defense policy bill called the National Defense Authorization Act.
Staff-level talks will lay the groundwork for Republicans and Democrats to meet when they return to Capitol Hill after the election.
“We have to be ready when we come back and go straight to the Big Four meeting,” he said, referring to the top leaders of both houses. “That is our goal.”
Reed said many of the differences between the House and Senate are not themselves typical Department of Defense policy issues but are “more political, cultural and social” in nature.
Congress may begin debating additional military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine this year, although it is more likely to happen next year, Reed said.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said she is putting “a lot of pressure” on the House and Senate to reach an agreement on the farm bill in the coming months, though she cautioned that the talks do not actually constitute a conference.
“I wouldn’t call it a conference; Technically, in order to convene a conference, you need the House to pass the bill and the Senate to pass the bill, which won’t happen,” Stabenow said.
“But I believe there is a way,” Stabenow added. “I believe there is a way to get a bipartisan bill.”
Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, the top Republican on the agriculture panel, said lawmakers don’t need the election results to “start working on our disagreements” over the farm bill, adding that talks have gained fresh momentum.
“I think what has changed is that there is an awareness among the members, all members, of how difficult it is as a farmer right now,” Boozman said. “So that’s really changed in the last three or four months. These people develop a sense of urgency.”
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said the election result could influence what lawmakers decide to accomplish during the meaningless session.
“There are a lot of scenarios, whether it’s the NDAA, whether it’s the Farm Bill, whether it’s whatever,” she said. “But it all depends on Schumer’s leadership.” New York Democrat Chuck Schumer is the Senate majority leader.
Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said he expects Congress to negotiate some agreement on government funding legislation and the NDAA, but not necessarily anything else.
“Oddly enough, the better Democrats do on November 5, the more we will get done,” Kaine said. “Because I think if the House turns to the Democrats, I think the R’s will say, ‘Well, let’s get a lot of things done before the House falls.’ So I think the better we do, the more we can achieve in lame duck.
Kaine said that if Democrats do well in the election, they may not have to approve additional aid for Ukraine this Congress because the funds could last through next year.
“If we don’t do well in (the election), we may have to do it as a lame duck,” Kaine said. “So it will all depend.”
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