Last April, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 1999 Federal law banning the creation, sale, or possession of depictions of animal cruelty as a violation of the constitutional right to free speech. Shortly after the decision, the original law’s main advocate, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), pledged to quickly introduce a new, more narrowly crafted measure. In July, the House passed his new bill by vote of 416 to 3. In November, the Senate unanimously approved it. Last Thursday, with Gallegly at his side, President Obama signed the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010 into law.

One of the first bills to pass the lame-duck session of Congress was S. 3307, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, reauthorizing and expanding child nutrition programs. With the House agreeing to the Senate-passed bill, the measure now goes to the White House for the President’s signature. Although it passed the Senate unanimously in August and the House by a substantial margin (264-157) on December 2, the legislation was not without controversy, especially with regard to funding (see “Child Nutrition,” Congressional Digest, December 2010).

On November 30, the Defense Department released its long-awaited Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The report details the results of a survey of service members about their attitudes toward changing the current Pentagon policy on homosexuals serving in the armed forces (see “Gays in the Military,” Congressional Digest, April 2010).

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.”