The drive by the Obama Administration to ratify the START Treaty during the Senate’s upcoming lame-duck session took a blow on Tuesday, when Sen. Jon Kyl (AZ-R) released a statement saying that he did not think the Senate would have time to vote on the treaty until the new year.

Congress has a full plate of unfinished business to consider during the lame duck session, which begins November 15, continues for a week, and then resumes after Thanksgiving. Congressional Digest and International Debates have covered many of the issues on this agenda.

Before his re-election as the senior senator from Nevada, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed to bring the DREAM Act to the Senate floor during the lame duck session. The legislation – the full title of which is the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act – would provide higher education opportunities and a path to citizenship to undocumented alien students who were brought to America as minors.

On September 30, after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 14 to 4 to send the New START Treaty to the full Senate for a vote (see the October International Debates) Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton applauded Committee Chair John Kerry (MA-D) for his leadership on the issue. But ratification of the U.S.-Russia nuclear arms reduction agreement is far from certain.

Although Toxic Substances Control Act reform, the focus of the October Congressional Digest, is moving slowly through Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called it a “top priority” and some States have taken action, as well.

For the second time this summer, President Obama used his weekly radio and video address to push for passage of legislation to require public disclosure of who funds political advertising. On Saturday, September 18, he said that Congress has a responsibility to act, even if it’s too late to have an impact this election season.

Despite the Senate’s failure to pass the DISCLOSE Act last July (Congressional Digest, September 2010), the bill’s supporters aren’t giving up on the campaign finance measure. In fact, the bill was the subject of President Obama’s weekly radio address to the Nation on August 21, in which he vowed to “continue to fight for reform and transparency.” 

With the mid-term elections around the corner, the September issue of Congressional Digest will focus on the latest controversy surrounding federal campaign expenditures.