CALL REPLAY |  LAME DUCK OR BLAME DUCK? - Midterm election cartoon

When Congress reconvenes next week after the Thanksgiving break, lawmakers will not only address a number of pending legislative issues in the lame-duck session of Congress scheduled to last until December 13, they will also select their leadership for the new Congress. The biggest changes will take place on the House side given the retirement of Speaker Paul Ryan and the election results (still trickling in) resoundingly handing control of the gavel over to the Democrats.  Republicans held their elections last week with Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy prevailing and will return next year as House Minority Leader.  Democrats are planning to hold their elections on November 28 with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi the prohibitive favorite for Speaker of the House with some opposition currently mobilizing against her.  See our note here for Senate leadership changes and a rundown of the major issues.

During the lame-duck session, Congress will have to agree to a stopgap measure to fund roughly a quarter of the government’s operations before the current continuing resolution expires on December 7 – with a government shutdown looming over funding for the border wall.  There are a number of other major issues/expiring programs Congress needs to address before the end of the year:

  • Farm Bill/ Food Assistance [SNAP]
  • National Flood Insurance Program
  • Tax Extenders + Technical Corrections to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018
  • IRS Reforms
  • Changes to Health Savings Accounts
  • Part D donut hole fix 
  • Repeal/delay of ACA-era taxes 
  • ~140 Nominees Requiring Senate Confirmation
  • Intelligence Reauthorization and Election Security

We recapped these issues as well as data privacy and a handful of energy issues.  Macro Policy Subscribers: CLICK HERE for video & audio replays.

CLICK HERE to access the associated slides.