Politics
The Lamest Lame-Duck Session
(Politico) – December will be the lamest lame-duck session in a long time.
Senate Democrats and House Republicans are privately saying that the post-election work period will be completely uneventful, a marked shift from the past two lame-duck sessions, which resulted in a pair of major fiscal deals.
Aside from renewing government funding in the beginning of the month, Republican and Democratic sources privately say nothing else major — such as immigration, tax or entitlement reform — will happen. Both sides aren’t even pretending a big legislative push is in the offing.
The most recent attempt to ensure that the lame duck lives up to its name came Tuesday when House Republicans said they will extend the Export-Import Bank’s charter until 2015, avoiding a December fight over what many conservatives call corporate welfare.