Chris Talgo: Lame-duck Congress should respect voters’ midterm message

Now that the Thanksgiving recess is over, the 117th Congress has reopened for business with just a few weeks before the 118th Congress will be sworn in.

Though the 117th Congress has a lot on its plate, such as likely passage of a bill to avert a rail strike and legislation to avert a government shutdown, it would behoove the current Congress to respect the will of the voters (as recently demonstrated in the midterm elections) by doing as little as possible before the 118th Congress convenes on Jan. 3, 2023.

Historically, this has been the norm. Over the past century, both parties have refrained from passing major legislation during the few weeks after congressional elections, colloquially known as the “lame-duck" session.

But this year’s lame-duck session could buck this historical trend because many Democrats are clamoring to pass substantial bills while they still hold the House of Representatives. The GOP takes over the lower chamber next year.

For instance, as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland recently told his congressional colleagues, “Whether it’s strengthening our economy, improving our immigration system, protecting our national security or safeguarding democracy around the world, we have important work ahead of us in December.”

Hoyer added, “We must take full advantage of the coming weeks to deliver results for the people.”

So what exactly is the outgoing Democratic-controlled Congress looking to do over the next few weeks?

For starters, they seek to pass yet another massive omnibus spending bill to keep the government operational before the federal government runs out of money on Dec. 16. While end-of-year, mega-spending bills have become the norm in recent years, it would be best for Congress to pass a short-term resolution that would keep the government funded through the holidays before the next Congress can attempt to rein in the out-of-control spending that has become standard procedure for far too long.

The current lame-duck Congress is also toying with hiking the debt ceiling (again) because our current debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion is about to lapse. As of this writing, the U.S. national debt has ballooned to an unsustainable $31.3 trillion.

Both parties are guilty of kicking the can down the road by raising the debt ceiling. But congressional Republicans have pledged to tackle the coming debt crisis, and they should have the opportunity to do so as soon as they take control of the House. In other words, the 117th Congress should not pass a massive debt ceiling increase that will only enable more profligate spending in coming months.

Aside from the big fiscal bills, the 117th Congress is considering passing several controversial bills that would be dead on arrival when the 118th Congress convenes.

This laundry list of legislation includes $40 billion more for Ukraine and $9 billion more for COVID-19. It also includes bills that would enshrine same-sex marriage, revise the Electoral Count Act, revive the expanded child tax credit and resuscitate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Perhaps most consequentially, the lame-duck leaders are talking about banning assault weapons.

Interestingly, as many midterm exit polls show, these issues are far from the list of priorities that voters want Congress to address in the months and years ahead.

Yet with their control of the House about to expire, it sure seems like congressional Democrats are not interested in heeding the voters’ desires when it comes to their lame-duck agenda.

Fortunately, due to the wisdom of our Founding Fathers -- who ensured the Senate would “cool” legislation like a saucer cools hot tea -- it is unlikely that any of these half-baked bills will end up on President Joe Biden’s desk before the end of the year.

So though congressional Democrats would like to end the 117th Congress with a mighty legislative roar, they seem far more likely to go out with a muted whimper.