As Congress nears the close of a truncated pre-election session, a series of significant issues have yet to be resolved and are likely to be put off until the post-election lame-duck session. The following is a summary of the most important unfinished business before the House and Senate:
Annual Appropriations ― Topping the agenda is a spending bill to ensure continued financing of the government’s day-to-day operations. With the annual appropriations process stalled, and the fiscal year ending on September 30, the House, on September 13, passed a continuing resolution to fund the Federal Government for the next six-months. The vote was 329 to 91. The Senate is expected to clear the bill for the President’s signature this week, enabling Congress to avoid a government shutdown that would not help its already low ratings in an election year. The measure permits an across-the-board spending increase of 0.6 percent.
Farm Bill ― A more challenging problem for lawmakers is how to resolve the impasse over the five-year farm bill, which would overhaul crop safety net programs and fund the food stamp program. The current farm bill, enacted in 2008, also expires at the end of September.
The Senate passed its version of a new long-term bill in June, but the House has yet to act, and Republican leaders are reluctant to bring their bill to the floor for fear that it won’t pass. Many House Republicans want deeper cuts in food stamps than Democrats, whose votes are needed to pass the measure, are willing to support.
With no solution in sight, Congress is likely to opt for a temporary extension of the old bill that includes much-needed drought aid for livestock producers, whose assistance programs have expired.
The “Fiscal Cliff” ― The biggest conundrum facing Congress and the President is what to do about tax increases and spending that are scheduled to take effect automatically at the end of 2012. Unless Congress acts, the Bush-era tax cuts will expire and more than $100 billion in spending cuts will be imposed. Known as “sequestration,” the cuts are mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011, which Congress passed to resolve the debt ceiling crisis. That law provided for the creation of a “Supercommittee” to produce bipartisan legislation to decrease the deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years; but because the committee failed to reach agreement, the Act directs across-the-board cuts, split evenly between domestic and defense spending. Economists warn that if the tax cuts and spending increases are allowed to occur, the fragile economy could fall back into recession.
Proposals to avoid the fiscal cliff include extending parts of the Bush tax cuts or amending the 2011 Budget Control Act or both, but any such changes are unlikely to come before the November 6 elections.
Congress is set to adjourn on October 5 and return on November 13.
