Congress returned to Washington from the campaign trail only to be confronted by the mountain of work they left behind.
Congressional leadership elections, a December 11 funding deadline to avoid a government shutdown, on-again/off-again COVID-19 stimulus negotiations, and formally beginning and ending a conference on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). And those are just the “big ticket” items that need to be addressed before Congress adjourns for the December holidays.
Always in the mix at the end of the year are a hodgepodge of bipartisan supported tax extenders. Business groups are focused on reducing uncertainty, so there could be action on the 30-some extenders in the lame duck. And if a tax extender package fails to come to fruition (not the first time), look to Congress to retroactively address expiring alcohol, excise, airline, clean energy and other miscellaneous provisions early in the 117th Congress.
So what are the dynamics at play over the next couple of months, and how will they drive outcomes?
Let’s take a look.