After returning to Washington on Monday following Thanksgiving break, Congress is now gearing up to address a slew of important issues during its last two lame-duck weeks before leaving for holiday on Dec. 12, and reconvening with full Republican control.
Most urgent on its to-do list is passing a government funding bill to prevent another federal shutdown once funding expires on Dec. 11.
Negotiations are currently underway for a $1 trillion-plus spending bill that the House and Senate Appropriations committees promise to have ready by the week of Dec. 8, according to The Associated Press.
However, President Barack Obama's recent move to provide 5 million immigrants deportation relief has complicated bipartisan efforts. Relations are strained, and because a good number of Republicans believe Obama overstepped his authority, Republican lawmakers could use the funding debate to press the immigration issue.
One popular plan being tossed around by the GOP is to draft two government funding bills. One bill would keep the majority of the government open through Sept. 2015, and the other would only keep immigration enforcement agencies funded for the first couple months of 2015, Politico reported.
GOP members will meet in the Capitol basement Tuesday morning to begin crafting a strategy that can both make their grievances known and prevent a government shutdown.
Also on the agenda before Christmas break is the need to renew expired tax breaks. These include deductions for state and local sales taxes and the research and experimentation credit, The Associated Press reported.
A $450 million deal was reached between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio., but the White House threatened to veto because it was missing a child tax credit and earned income tax credit, Politico reported.
Another issue to be addressed is the reauthorization of the president's authority to arm and train Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. Currently set to expire on Dec. 11, lawmakers are likely to temporarily renew Obama's authority while waiting until 2015 to authorize broader military force.
Obama has requested more than $5 billion to pay for additional military aid in Iraq - including the deployment of more noncombat troops - and $6.2 billion to fight Ebola in West Africa and secure the U.S. against an outbreak. As for the problem of immigrant children, a $3.7 billion request is pending, AP reported.
Also on the table is the renewal of the government's terrorism risk insurance program which expires at the end of the year. It's something that the construction, real estate and hospitality industries have pressed for, but negotiations appear to have stalled.
The bill that has passed every year for more than five decades, the annual defense authorization bill, is also likely to meet little resistance, The Associated Press reported. However, issues have been raised over shrinking Pentagon budgets that some say could threaten its ability to prepare for a war.
